Harry Potter Finally Graduates
by hemerocallis
Summary: The story begins where J.K Rowling ends.  It covers the seventh year of Harry and his friends, told from Ginny's point of view.  The students face new hazards and learn the true nature of Hogwarts as they help the Order establish a democratic government.
1. Chapter 43

**Preface**

The characters in this novel, except those newly created by me, were created by J.K. Rowling and are her copyrighted property, as are the plot background and physical settings borrowed from her. The new characters and plot created here are mine. This novel may not be copied, published or entered into commerce.

It continues the Hogwarts saga from the exact point where J.K. left it in book seven (excluding the epilogue). While she provides a satisfying conclusion, it struck me that having the hero of the Wizarding world and his best pals be high-school drop-outs would not set a good example. Harry must graduate. And so, we have the seventh year for Harry and his friends, and a chance for them to attend classes with Ginny. This tale is told largely in Ginny's voice.

This is version two and contains significant changes, incorporating my new ideas as well as suggestions from readers. The rest of this preface should give you a better starting perspective and explain why I chose to ignore some of the comments from version one. Feel free to comment and disagree. Mainly, just enjoy my attempt to fill in some of the holes in the canon story.

I am true to the canon of the novels, but make no effort to be consistent with the movies or what Rowling revealed later. This novel is consistent with the epilogue. Although I may morph into an AU offering by the end of Part Three, I claim it to be a plausible extension and elaboration of canon, when viewed through adult eyes and sci-fi.

Harry and friends played the decisive role in winning the Voldemort War, but don't really understand the motivations of the other participants in that war. Either out of a kindly desire to shield them or a more sinister desire to manipulate them, the Order kept them in the dark. They don't know what will happen now that the war is won or if they will be allowed to share in the fruits of victory or told to go back to being children. They don't even realize that the death of Voldemort is not the end of their adventure. More fighting and scheming lie ahead and there are other mysteries to solve.

A successful revolution is a new beginning, not an ending. The American, French, Russian, and Egyptian revolutions show fighting doesn't end with the victory. Nor is the final form of the new society and government clear. The vanquished are not wholly vanquished. The revolutionaries are not of one mind. In fighting to achieve the rights of the many, the fight for the rights of other groups is set aside. After victory, the struggle for others' rights resumes.

Will the revolution yield progress and democracy, or a new dictator? Who will lead? As with the American revolution, the major battles to resolve the big issues among the allies may come long after the revolution ends. Or, the guillotine blade may fall before the victory celebrations are at an end.

What is the role of young adults in the new Wizarding world? Does the Order, which excluded them, still exist?

While at least initially appearing a bit different than J. K.'s characters, I think my versions are reasonable extensions based upon what the canon says about them. That may not become fully apparent until Part Three. Rowling revealed these characters through the eyes of children. As those children grow into full adulthood, they may perceive them differently. They also will find that they have been changed by the battle and will change further, as they choose their own paths, largely independent of adult direction.

They may or may not choose to rise above the prejudices and petty jealousies of the adults who shaped their childhood. Loathsome children can grow to be likeable, responsible adults. Dumbledore and Rowling believed every child is redeemable. Likewise, goody-good children can turn into bad adults, given the new temptations of adulthood and a whiff of power.

Some claim Harry did not kill Voldemort – his own rebounding curse did. This is narrowly correct, but wrong from a larger perspective. Harry's actions caused Voldemort's death. Harry actively sought to kill Voldemort. That was the whole purpose of the hunt for the horcruxes – Harry sought them out so that Voldemort could be killed. Harry dueled Voldemort, thinking only he could slay him. He or Voldemort must die at the other's hand. That Harry can't use a killing curse shows his distaste to kill even someone as evil as Voldemort.

Some suggest that because of his experience with Dumbledore, Harry could never possibly allow himself to again be manipulated by anyone. This is unlikely - an adult viewing Harry after the battle will know how shaken and vulnerable he is. It will take time to regain his metal strength. Ingrained behavior patterns are difficult to break in the best of times. Dumbledore has trained Harry to accept manipulation.

In the canon, we see the Wizarding world through the eyes of children. This view matures as Harry matures, but it is still only a child's view. By the end, reality intrudes into Harry's idealized world. He is disillusioned and he starts to follow his own lead. Still, Harry is a very sheltered kid, without deep understanding of either our world or the Wizarding world. He is intelligent, but not at all learned. He has survived on bravery, emotion, instinct, and more than a little guidance from Dumbledore and protection by other adults, including at times Voldemort.

My tale is told through Ginny as she emerges into adulthood. She is far less sheltered than Harry. She understands the Wizarding world better and is not hemmed in by his self-doubt. She is as brave as Harry, but brasher.

As in the canon books, the language, plot, and content become progressively more complex and adult with each part. Harry, Ginny, and their friends learn how the Wizarding world actually is, not how it is presented to Hogwarts students. Maturity is not merely a factor of age and you are the best judge of whether this novel is too old for you.

**Chapter 1 – Problems Anew**

"Try to hold on Barty! We just need to make it through that break in the wall and... freedom to live another day and continue our fight. I know you're hurt Barty, but just a few hundred feet and I can apparate you to my safe house in Wales. Lean on me, if you must. I will be the strength for both of us. To freedom, and then I must think of the best way to let loyal Witches and Wizards know that the true Minister of Magic still lives."

Barty's injuries were worse than Thicknesse had realized at first and leaning was soon not enough. He delayed his flight to perform a couple of healing spells to stop the loss of blood and to give Barty a bit of extra energy. This would have to do, until they reached the safe house. He picked up the limp sack, which was Barty, and toted it over his shoulder to the gap in the wall. He moved as fast as he could. They were in great danger. To be surprised, before they cleared Hogwarts' apparation barriers, meant death for both of them. He had seen two other small groups of Death Eaters fleeing Hogwarts after the death of the Dark Lord. While it hurt to see his fellow Death Eaters fleeing for their lives, he didn't regret ordering the retreat. Most of the Death Eaters weren't equipped to fight if the Dark Lord was gone. It would take time to teach them to resist the new order and to see him as the capable replacement for Voldemort.

He knew he should have cursed that damned Lucius Malfoy, when he found him cowering in a corner with his family. He lacked Voldemort's ability to deal brutally with slackers among his own troops. He had been wrong to trust one as weak and selfish as Lucius. To remember that he had even been required to accept orders from Lucius made him shudder. Lucius must pay with his life for his treason, but that could wait. This battle wasn't lost just because Lucius chose to sit it out, huddled in a corner with his family. Family could weaken any Death Eater and Lucius had given in to a desire to protect his precious Draco. Understandable perhaps, at least in the abstract, but so very unworthy of a true Death Eater. Lucius must suffer as his whole family was destroyed, then he must die a more painful death than a hasty Avada Kedavra could provide. All was ashes and Lucius was the fire starter.

Worst of all, Thicknesse had seen the short figure of Delores Umbridge, leading three masked Death Eaters to freedom. Umbridge, the embodiment of his loyalty to the dead Dark Lord, who had given him the power to remake the Wizarding world. He had kissed up to her, even kissed and bedded her, because that was what his Dark Lord had commanded. The fool Umbridge thought she had Imperiused him to her purpose. She was wrong. The Dark Lord had personally bought his loyalty. The Dark Lord had also shielded him against the worst of Umbridge's curse. That may not have been so kind. Sex with Umbridge might have been less unpleasant, had her Imperius not banged up against the protections the Dark Lord had fashioned. How could so much lust hide within all that feigned pink adolescent cheeriness?

His musings were interrupted as he stubbed his foot upon a splintered stone. He had made it past the apparation barriers. He drew his wand and found himself tumbling towards Wales.

Meanwhile, back at the Hogwarts' headmaster's office, the victorious three were together once again.

"I've also had more than enough excitement and trouble for my lifetime," answered Hermione. "We won and I'm proud of what we did but... just so much death, and at Hogwarts. It has quite ruined this place for me. And... I'm not sure that all the trouble is quite finished."

They all jumped at the loud "Nor am I," coming from the top of the stairs.

"Professor McGonagall, you startled me."

"This is now my office, Hermione, but I don't begrudge you its use. If you and Ron will wait here, I want to borrow Harry."

"Umm, okay, sure," Harry replied.

"Good. Put on your cloak and follow me. I'll leave Hermione and Ron with two thoughts to ponder. First, you might consider how Hermione's Muggle knowledge can help our cause. Second, consider the creative powers of youth, and the power of SectumSempra and improved potions making. Don't give me that look, of course I knew about that. I am, after all, your Head of House."

Professor McGonagall led Harry in silence down the stairs and through the Entry Hall. The short time in Dumbledore's office had returned Harry's nose to a sense of normalcy – the pleasant smells of polished old wood, old stone, and aging manuscripts. Now, his nostrils were assaulted by the rank and bitter odors of pulverized stone and mortar and decaying blood. He grimaced as he maneuvered around bits of broken stone and other debris, his vision impeded by the cloak. Kingsley Shacklebolt approached them, but the professor waved him aside. Harry spotted Ginny ahead of them, her arms around George and Molly, but her head cocked to the side as if scanning the crowd for someone she'd lost. A quiet "ahem" kept Harry moving away from the Weasleys.

Harry was focused upon avoiding rubble as they turned a corner and did not see the figure who screamed 'expelliarmus', sending the professor's wand flying behind her. When he looked up, he saw Eva Duerr, a sixth-year Slytherin, pointing her wand at Professor McGonagall's chest."

"You were always against us, always Dumbledore's best ally, always criticizing us, always so sure you knew just exactly what was right, you stupid old Witch. Now you're going to die."

"You don't really want to kill me, Eva. The battle's over. Your side lost. Don't destroy your life for nothing."

"The battle is not over. It will never be over. Your side will destroy our way of life. I can at least kill you, then I'll slip away. 'Avada…'"

'Expelliarmus' Harry silently mouthed, with the Elder Wand pointed where Eva's heart should have been.

"'…Kedavra', what the hell!" Eva's arm had been jerked up, mid-curse, and her killing curse splattered harmlessly against the ceiling.

'Petrificus Totalis' mouthed Harry, causing Eva to fall in a heap.

The professor led him forward in silence, not speaking until they reached the base of the Astronomy Tower. "Thank you Harry. My tiredness made me a little careless. Don't worry about Eva, your spell will wear off in about ten hours. I'll send someone to see to her."

They climbed the tower together. Harry slipped off the cloak and stuffed it under his robes. This was difficult, as the inner pocket was ripped. The cloak was a remarkable thing, looking new and whole, while his robes sported numerous holes and patches of drying blood and other grime. Looking down as he shielded himself behind the only remaining section of the wall, he saw that there were no longer any bodies on the grounds, but damage to the castle was clearly visible as were gaps in Hogwarts' outer walls. His eyes were fixed on a hole in the wall, where he could see grass and bushes beyond the two bottom courses of stone that bridged a fifteen foot gap, where the Giants had breached Hogwarts' outer defenses. A work crew busily gathered stones to repair the outer wall. Judging from the different sizes of the stick figures, they must be a couple full-sized Giants, as well as Grawp and Hagrid, assisted by several Wizards and Goblins. The Giants realized that they had backed the wrong side in the war and were eager to ingratiate themselves with what to Harry was still the Dumbledore faction.

Following his eyes, Professor McGonagall commented, "of course the wall itself was always mainly an architectural feature. The protection was largely in the magical charms and barriers that were anchored in the bedrock. With the charms gone, Hogwarts is visible to the Muggles. In addition to protecting us from stray Death Eaters, and rooting Voldemort's supporters out of the Ministry, many Ministry staff are tied up wiping away the memories of the Muggles who saw the castle and even the battle.

"I realize this spot has bad memories for you, Harry, but there are people just about everywhere else in the castle, and we need to be alone for what I have to say. I especially wanted to escape Dumbledore's portrait. He was my best friend and the Wizard I trusted most, but I'm having very uncharitable thoughts about him. I am grieved to think how much pain and responsibility Dumbledore thrust upon your young shoulders.

"I could never ask a student to surrender his life. I always believed a professor's greatest duty was to protect her students - to provide a safe atmosphere in which to grow up and to learn in a safe way from your little failures. So, I want you to know how sorry I am that I failed you as your Head of House.

"I also... pay attention Harry! I know you're tired, but this is important. I must warn you that as the new leader of the Order, I will ask you to face danger. That would have been inappropriate when you were a child, but you are now an adult. Like Dumbledore, I wear two hats. I was your teacher, but I also lead the remnants of an army - an army whose fight is far from finished. I think Dumbledore was too willing to let you assume he was always the teacher who would protect you. So, be warned: don't ever assume that I am only your protective teacher."

"It's alright, if there are still Death Eaters, I want to help you fight them. How can I shrink from danger, when so many good people died here trying to protect me?"

Headmaster McGonagall stood a little straighter, as if a great burden had just been lifted from her shoulders.

"Thank you, Harry. There are many things left for you to experience and to accomplish. I want to prepare you to accomplish them. You, Ron and Hermione have been a great team and I hope you will continue working together. With your permission, I'd like to also include George, Miss Weasley, Neville, and Luna in the circle that I talk to. If you agree, I'll ask them to go to my office and view the Pensieve".

"Of course Professor, I trust them totally and they all fought for me. They deserve to know everything."

She made four slashing motions with her wand. Each time, a cat Patronus sprung from the wand and raced away.

"Professor, you said the troubles weren't over, and now you are talking as if we need to be ready for another battle. Won't the Death Eaters go back into hiding again, now that Voldemort is dead?"

"We are entering a period of great transition. The Death Eaters won't just wait to be captured. They will disrupt the interim government to get a permanent Minister who will grant them amnesty and allow them to be a political force. Others will fight to improve their station, as the killings and removal of Death Eaters will create several decades' worth of advancement opportunities. Many people have scores to settle - all ample reasons for more violence.

"The Death Eaters see the Malfoys as traitors and seek revenge. Lucius will hide among the Muggles. His arrogance, power lust, and appearance are viewed as only slightly eccentric in the world of Muggle bankers. He is not entirely happy with Narcissa's actions. They are barely speaking and Narcissa needs to go into hiding in our world - she could never pass among the Muggles. She is not mentally strong at the best of times and has nearly come unraveled. Common decency requires that I protect her.

"In return for certain actions, which I will explain later, I promised Draco's parents that I would protect him at Hogwarts. I know it's a lot to ask, but I hope you and your friends will help me keep my promise. I need you to convince your friends that this is the best thing to do. Draco was never really evil, just a spoiled rich kid trying to look tough."

"A large part of Draco is evil, but I'm not totally opposed to helping him, while I can. I couldn't have beaten Voldemort without his mother's help. I owe a debt for that. I was there when Draco was unable to kill Dumbledore, so I do see some goodness in him. Still, I don't trust him. I thought Dumbledore was a fool to trust him. He died because of that error. It doesn't matter what I think. I can't protect Draco at Hogwarts, because I won't return to Hogwarts."

"That would be a serious mistake and I hope to change your mind. I freely admit my self-interest in avoiding the bad example for young students, if their hero dropped out of Hogwarts, less than two years after the Weasley twins dropped out to start a glamorous business. Most children badly need to complete the seventh level and you and your friends would also benefit from that education.

"You have more to learn than you realize. Some of the courses that appear the driest can be exactly what you need in life. It was unfortunate that Dumbledore allowed a ghost to teach Wizard History. It made a dull subject even duller. But it's still a very important subject to a Wizard who was raised in a Muggle household. You don't realize how much the past governs what Wizards do today and how much the whole community is stuck in the past. You've focused solely upon Voldemort, without considering the conditions which made Voldemort possible. We can't be truly safe until those conditions are changed.

'You need to understand the history of the Great Families, and the warring among the different magical peoples. You've observed that we live in a world of House allegiances at Hogwarts, but you haven't seen how much those House and family allegiances dominate the entire adult Wizarding world. Slughorn isn't the only Slytherin for life. To understand any Wizard, first understand his family history, and then understand how he gets along with his family. You generally don't have to look any farther than that. Self-made Wizards, like the Weasley twins, who reinvent themselves, are very rare.

"To go to battle, or into business or politics, without this knowledge of yourself and your opponents, is to be at a profound disadvantage. Voldemort couldn't have been defeated without Dumbledore's knowledge of the Gaunts. It's a shame that Dumbledore made politics seem dirty to you, since that is where your best future lies. Dumbledore needed a soldier and solver of mysteries. Now the Wizarding world needs you to be a leader and healer.

"You must stay for Ron's sake. If you leave, Ron will leave. Ron will have a much worse time than you. For Ron to have anything approaching a life that will make Hermione content to stay with him, he must finish Hogwarts. As his friend, you must push him in that direction.

"The third point is a bit delicate and I hesitate to raise it with the Wizard who defeated Voldemort, but I must. I think we need to have you thoroughly checked out."

"What's the problem? I feel tired and too over-excited to sleep, but there's nothing the matter with me."

"I know that Voldemort left a part of himself in you as a horcrux. I know that he killed that part. What we don't know is how many of your former abilities died with that horcrux. We don't know if you can defend yourself. The Death Eaters know that you own the Elder Wand, and will want to take it. None of the Death Eaters followed Voldemort out of love. Many saw themselves as little Voldemorts. With the Elder Wand, they may think they can become as big as him. Dumbledore guarded the secret of his wand until his final year. You announced the secret in front of hundreds. I fear for your safety."

"I don't plan to keep the wand. I'll hide it. I can protect myself. I just beat Voldemort, and he was the most dangerous Wizard of all time."

"That victory may not be all it seems. Your link with Voldemort and your connection with Dumbledore's wand made that a special case. 'Expelliarmus' isn't a curse that should have that effect. There's no record of it ever being a killing curse or causing the fatal rebound of a killing curse. This is the second time a killing curse has rebounded off you and struck Voldemort down. It wasn't your dueling prowess that did in Voldemort that first time."

"So you think I may not have my Wizard powers anymore?"

"You still have many of them. You just protected me from Eva Duerr. We don't know how many of them remain, but we had better find out, before a less friendly person does. Today is the first time that you killed someone. That can have a terrible effect on the mind, especially for one as young and good as you."

"Okay, when do we start?"

"Tomorrow is soon enough. I want to talk about one last matter regarding the settling of scores. The Goblins are considering putting a price on your head. They are very angry about the break-in at Gringotts and the loss of their dragon. I fear that the disappearance of the Gryffindor sword has upset them further."

"What can I do to satisfy them?"

"We have time, before you turn 18, which is the age of adulthood for Goblins. Their King is willing to treat you as a child and less accountable for your actions. They view their age of adulthood as more correct than ours. They have a complex technological society that requires a lot of training and emotional discipline. They say our age of maturity makes sense for Wizards, because 'how difficult can it be to learn how to shake a stick?' Goblin pride also may work to our favor. The heist is not common knowledge and the Goblins don't want to damage the bank's reputation.

"You'd have a better appreciation of the Goblin situation if you hadn't daydreamed so much through the history lessons on the Goblin-Wizard wars. It really is a classic case of different belief systems leading both sides to view the other as lying cheats and thieves.

"Now, let's get back to my office. I've asked the others to cover the portraits with magical cloths, so we can have a private discussion. I promise you, Harry, if you support me on this, I'll tell you everything that the Order knows -no secrets and no more lies. I won't dump it on you all at once.

"One more thing, I have a very special favor to ask of you, one that is important to what you and the Order have been fighting for. It would be best if you didn't mention this to Ronald or the others. If you'll summon Kreacher for me…."

They turned and began a leisurely stroll back toward Professor McGonagall's office. Professors Trelawney and Flitwick approached them in a rush, with a very agitated Terry Boot, Lisa Turpin, and a third student, whom Harry didn't recognize, in tow.

"Our common room has been destroyed," said Lisa. "The Carrows have escaped and torn the place apart", continued the unknown girl.

"They were disarmed, and I had them completely restrained," Professor McGonagall replied. "They couldn't have escaped without help and only a Professor or a Ravenclaw could have entered that common room. Lisa, you and Erin should go back to your common room and calm the younger students. Terry, round up any Ravenclaws who are wandering the corridors."

"This isn't that large a school," commented Harry, "but there are still so many students whom I never got to know. I don't think I really know even twenty Ravenclaws. For instance, who is Erin? I vaguely remember seeing her around, but we didn't take classes with Ravenclaws."

"That's Erin Device, although the boys have tagged her with a less polite surname. She's a sixth year. Her father is the head librarian at the Ministry and they're descended from the Pendle Hill witches. I like to think she is deep and immersed in her own thoughts, rather than unintelligent. She is very pretty, isn't she? I hope not a distraction from Miss Weasley."

"Never!" Harry walked along in silence, not wishing to admit that he had no idea who the Pendle Hill witches were or even that the Ministry had a head librarian.


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter Two – A New Circle Plus One**

My mind was adrift as I mourned my losses and sort of watched Luna bent over the Pensieve, wondering how she would react to the scenes which had so jolted me. I was shocked, but I also had a much better idea of what Harry's life had been like and what he had suffered and not shared with me.

"Ginny!"

The highly emotional shout startled me from my thoughts. I looked up and there was Harry - dirty and worn, but more magnificent than I had ever seen him. I rushed at him, wrapping my arms around him in a bear hug and then a snog to end all snogs. "I missed you so much, Harry."

"I'm so sorry about Fred", Harry whispered back to me. "I've seen way too much death today, but the loss of Fred really hurts and it must be so many times worse for you".

"Yes, I couldn't cry at the time, because you can't cry and fight, and I knew I needed to fight. Afterward, I just collapsed all over Mom. She's in worse shape than I am. George is still completely numb. I don't know when any of us are going to be normal. I feel like I must be a terrible person. Even while I was grieving and comforting Mom, I couldn't stop myself from looking around, trying to find out what had happened to you. That was probably a dumb think to say.

"It would be easier on Mom, if Dad hadn't been called back to the Ministry. Shacklebolt wanted him and he didn't think he could say no. I could tell how much he hated to leave us. I told him that this fight isn't over yet and we all just have to keep pushing forward, as long as we can.

"Things haven't been easy for you, either, Harry. I looked in the Pensieve, and that was horrible. To make you surrender to Voldemort like that, and to go all alone, without a fight. I can't believe Dumbledore could do that. I never saw that side of him. I got along with him alright, but you loved him. You must feel totally betrayed."

"It was a jolt, but I had to move past it. I'll tell you the whole story, but Dumbledore arranged for my mother and father and Sirius to be with me. The worst part was when I had to walk past you on the lawn. I feared I would never see you again and I missed you more than anyone. I almost gave up the struggle right there, but I knew if I didn't keep going, that Voldemort would kill you and everyone else I cared about."

Harry was interrupted by an "ahem" from the top of the stairs and I saw a look on the Professor's face that said the meeting had been called to order. McGonagall was bossier than I remembered. I wasn't finished talking to Harry. We had important things to say to each other.

Harry followed McGonagall's lead and stepped away from me. I groaned as his arms left my body. Harry just stared at my face. "I can see where you were cut and your mother fixed your face. All the clean patches on your face trace healed wounds. Don't worry, you look great. It's just strange to see you like this and realize how beaten up you must have been. Hermione looks half destroyed. I should fix her face. She doesn't have a mother here to care for her."

"Ron will take care of it," I told Harry.

Hearing my words, Ron promptly set about healing the cuts to Hermione's face and magically cleaning away most of the blood and grime. McGonagall looked impatient, but this had no impact at all upon my brother. I was proud of him and more than a little resentful toward her. She had intruded upon our moment and was determined to make it hers.

"Ahem, if I have Harry's and Ron's permission to continue, I've called you all together to share what has happened and to warn that the battle is not over," said Professor McGonagall.

We all grudgingly gave her our attention.

"We've just learned that the Carrows escaped and other Death Eaters likely made it over the walls. I regret that I didn't have the fortitude to finish some of them off, when they were lying on the floor insensate. They have a way of continually returning to the fight."

"Don't feel badly about that," Hermione replied. "I couldn't use a curse worse that 'petrificus' during the battle."

"I did," Ron replied matter-of-factly. "I heard someone fall, too. Couldn't tell who in the dark, but I definitely got at least one of them. I'm not sorry. They killed Fred."

McGonagall rushed in to get the discussion back on track. "I was present at the founding of the Order. Most of its members have been taken from us. Many were your age when they joined. Now it's time to add a new generation. As the new leader of the Order, I want you to join as full members. I'll understand if you want to stick within your own circle. If you choose that, the Order stands ready to support you. I hope that we will freely share information, so we can both be more effective. For the moment, I think it best we keep things informal."

"As you know, Kingsley Shacklebolt has agreed to be the temporary Minister of Magic, until an election can be held. He asked me to be the new Headmaster of Hogwarts, and I accepted."

"I didn't know. Isn't that kind of quick to pick a new Minister?" Hermione asked.

"You think?" McGonagall answered, "but please let me stay on track or I'll forget to say something, or say something inappropriate. There is so much work to rebuild the Wizarding world that the Minister asked Mr. Weasley to serve as Deputy Minister. Mr. Weasley will shortly meet the Muggle Prime Minister. The Death Eaters caused a lot of damage in the Muggle world and the Prime Minister isn't convinced that we can sort out our own affairs. But… here's to our shared future."

Full wine glasses materialized in front of us.

Glasses clanked and wine flowed down parched and tired throats. "To Dumbledore's Army!" shouted Ginny. "Yes, to all of us, and to those yet to join us", said Hermione, in a surprisingly quiet voice. She whispered to Ron: "she just took charge of us, didn't she? She was so sly, I almost missed it."

"Let me build on your enthusiasm", said Professor McGonagall, "I've suggested to Harry that all of you return next term, to finish your educations and to use the school as your base of operations. At least for now, we don't know how much Harry's partial death and his killing of Voldemort have hampered his magical talents and ability to protect himself. Until we know, it's safest for you all to stay here and to help me keep Harry safe, while he regains his strength."

I saw Harry wince as McGonagall said that. A large part of me rebelled on Harry's behalf. How presumptuous was she to suggest that my Harry, the hero who defeated Voldemort, couldn't defend himself?

McGonagall continued, before I could give voice to my outrage. "Dumbledore found Hogwarts to be a great place from which to run the Order. The school's magical protections are both better than those anywhere else in the Wizarding world, but also so expected for the students' protection, that they do not attract undue notice."

"I'm happy living in the real world", said George, "I have a business, and if we have a battle to finish, we need to be out in the world protecting the new government. I won't hide, while my family and business are unprotected. This is where Fred died. Fred and I left in a blaze of glory, and not for scholarship. Returning alone would be too strange. I wasn't that keen on Hogwarts' rules when I was here, and I'm not eager to be treated like a child."

McGonagall replied, "most of the real action, including the last battle, was here. The staff and students played the key roles. This school has always been central to the Wizarding community. We need to make it safe, so parents send the next generation here. We must teach survival skills, but also bridge the gaps in the Wizarding community and teach a unifying philosophy. Hogwarts will change, for good or for bad. I want you to help change it for the good. I need your help to save this school. It has not escaped anyone's notice that Voldemort and most of the Death Eaters are from Slytherin or that most of the Slytherin students fought on Voldemort's side. This school cannot be allowed to create the next generation of Death Eaters. I was shocked to see so many Slytherins attacking their own school. You didn't seem surprised at all.

"As to your last point, I'm willing to interpret the rules flexibly for adults returning to Hogwarts. I have no interest in hounding you with petty infractions, but I would expect you all to set a good example for the younger students. For your return to have meaning, it has to be about study and serious work, not about Quidditch and Weasley novelties. I will be interested in your supplying as many as possible of your inventions, that you feel may have combat value."

"I don't plan to return to Hogwarts," said Ron. "We need to get on with our lives and there is work to do outside Hogwarts. We learned a lot this year - things that were never taught here. There is more to learn out there than in here. Dad is going to be at the Ministry. George and I have to be with Mom. She takes Fred's death really hard."

"You'll be able to continue your adventures. I'm not asking you to spend all your time here. There are a number of expeditions I want you to undertake. There are many resources at Hogwarts, which I would put at your disposal: the restricted library, Dumbledore's private library including a collection of memories that I can't access myself, full greenhouses, magical creatures, and Professors Slughorn's and Snape's storerooms. Madam Pomphrey is a combat nurse. You can still fight, but it's great to have a safe, warm place to sleep, with good food on the table. Dumbledore could take decisive action from Hogwarts as easily as if he were sitting in the Minister's chair. If not, he would have been Minister. He got out into the world when he had to. And your mother won't be alone, Ron. She agreed to replace Professor Snape and teach Defense Against the Dark Arts. I think she is a resource we haven't made enough use of."

"I've always wanted to remain a part of Hogwarts", said Neville," but I'll graduate this year and have to leave."

"Since you saved this school, the faculty will name you Professor immediately." I expect another vacancy. In the meantime, you can assist Professor Sprout in herbology. We want an arsenal of potions and we'll need lots of herbs. If you're interested, the job is yours."

"I'm interested."

"I'd appreciate it if all of you would consider the possibility of staying here."

"I think Dumbledore would want me to come back", said Harry.

"Hogwarts really has the finest library of magical books I've ever seen", said Hermione.

"I don't really have any choice", said Ginny, "Mom will make me come back, probably Ron too."

"Not going to happen. I'm old enough to make my own decisions and unlike a certain member of my family, I actually finished my sixth year."

Professor McGonagall realized again that she was losing control of the meeting. "Good. I need to know your final answers tomorrow. There is one more order of business before we eat and take a nap."

Everyone objected that they were too excited to nap.

"Very well," agreed McGonagall, "we'll eat and talk." An Elf brought trays of sandwiches and cakes and flasks of butter beer. We relaxed a little as we ate.

Hermione asked, "explain why you said we should consider the benefits of Muggles and youth?"

"You need to start looking beneath the surface of things, to really understand this world. You have the advantage of youth to approach things with freshness and creativity. Hermione can compare ours to the Muggle world.

"Let me use Snape and house Elves as examples. I think you'll agree that potions are very basic to Wizarding. They once were the greatest of weapons in our world. It should have surprised you to discover that Snape's potions book, despite falling apart with age, had exactly the same content as the new books. Yet, Harry knows that as a student, Snape was able to greatly improve upon his book's instructions. Every other Wizard was willing to memorize and repeat the instructions in exactly the same way they have been followed for hundreds of years. You could have bought a nearly identical potions book two hundred years ago. I find it interesting that Snape, the Professor, did less to improve potions than did Snape, the student. He researched and learned to make many esoteric potions, but these were old recipes that he discovered in the library.

"Snape created the curse that Harry found in the margin of the potions book. It is a very special curse, since it worked, without any practice whatsoever, for a student who didn't know what it was supposed to do, other than harm an enemy. In class you had to visualize the end result, practice, and move by inches to master charms, curses, and transfigurations. Even a simple spell like 'leviosum', required a lot of practice. You've learned to use 'leviosum' without vocalization, just by thinking it. That's because 'leviosum' is just a simple mnemonic to quickly trigger the practiced memory, by which your mind performs the spell. If you had thought about that, Snape's curse would seem as astounding as it is. I've searched extensively, but never found any mention of that curse. Snape must have invented it."

"I think it's fair to say that Wizards aren't willing to share their secrets," Harry replied. "There's no way of knowing how many improvements were made over the years and lost when their creator died."

"That's profound, Harry, and certainly part of the problem. But, you should also consider that Hermione's insight into the status of house Elves could only come from the Muggle world. To a Wizard, the enslavement of house Elves doesn't cause a moment's thought. It's just the natural order of things. Hogwarts doesn't just teach Wizarding culture, it hammers it into your brains, until it becomes second nature, even to the Muggle-born. By making the Muggle-born feel inferior, those like the Malfoys force them to hide any trace of their Muggleness. A lot of potentially very useful new ideas and inventions from the Muggle world are thus locked out."

"I was never ashamed to be Muggle-born," said Hermione, "but I did feel a strong need to prove that I could be a better Witch than any pure blood. Doing magic which they were unable to do was the best revenge upon those who taunted me. I haven't given up my Muggle knowledge. I spend my summers studying chemistry, physics, geometry, calculus, and economics. It reminds me of my roots and that Muggles can do a lot of things that Wizards can't. It also reassures my parents that they haven't totally lost their only child.

"I do think a little about the workings of the Wizard world. There was one thing I wanted to ask, but it never seemed the right time. You lent me a time turner to allow me to schedule more classes. Later, I was told that time turners were no longer available, because the Ministry's whole supply had been destroyed. Can't the Ministry just manufacture another batch of time turns?"

"No, they can't. There is not a Wizard alive who knows how to make a time turner. We don't know if they were made long ago by Wizards, or by Goblins. There are many such things stored in the Ministry, which nobody understands. I hope you'll help us to understand them. It's not just Muggle technology which we don't understand. We've forgotten some of the best skills of our forebears.

"On the subject of inventiveness, I understand that you were puzzled when Dumbledore willed his deluminator to Ron. I know you now say 'of course, Ron was to use it on the quest for horcruxes', but I think there's more to it than that. That was Dumbledore's only invention. Listing the uses of dragons' blood was more a rediscovery and categorizing of what already existed. Most of his publications were an old professor's conceit, which didn't really add to our box of tricks. That deluminator was very precious to him. He had a very good reason to pass it on to Ron. Arthur Weasley has as great a fascination with Muggle equipment as anyone I've ever met. I think Dumbledore was trying to encourage Ron to pursue the inventive bent that his father and twin brothers have shown. They and Snape have been the most creative among us."

The group amiably chatted, with brief interruptions as the professor received reports of this or that section of the castle and grounds having its magical protections restored. Everyone felt a closer understanding of the professor as she revealed that she viewed her Quidditch obsession as something of a vice, that she had been a Chaser for the Gryffindor team, that she especially admired the Oxford dons who were able to create new knowledge, had a fascination bordering on Mr. Weasley's for Muggle customs and artifacts, that she understood a great deal more about Harry's extracurricular activities at Hogwarts than anyone suspected, and that she had carried out all manner of sabotage against Umbridge and the Carrows. She did not seem like a person who had dispatched half a dozen Death Eaters to the Beyond, but she had. She was justifiably proud to be a soldier, a teacher, and a scholar, and now she clearly intended to lead an army and rebuild a society. It cast a different light on their personalities to realize that it was Dumbledore who had never killed another Wizard. Dumbledore had taken Grindelwald alive.

Hermione raised another question, "If Wizards from Grindelwald to Voldemort wanted to subjugate the Muggles, why haven't we heard of Muggle-Wizard wars?"

"Because it was sheer madness," replied Professor McGonagall, "there were battles with Muggles in the past, just as there was war with the Goblins and a war with the Elves. Muggles have become a lot more numerous since then and their military capabilities have increased tremendously. Just look at the numbers. About half of Wizard children from England and a smaller fraction from Scotland and Wales are educated at Hogwarts. Each year's class is about 40 students. That makes only about 15,000 Wizarding folk in all of Britain, with about as many in continental Europe and perhaps 5,000 in Eire. On this whole world, there probably aren't more than 70,000 Wizards. To go to war with the Muggles would be the end of Wizards. What would we gain by defeating them, even if we could?"

As evening approached, a message was received that all of Hogwarts had at least temporary magical protection. "I don't expect an attack tonight, but it is a possibility," cautioned Professor McGonagall. "The professors and a few members of the Order are patrolling the corridors. The people at greatest risk are Harry and Draco Malfoy. I propose that we all sleep here tonight and that we invite Draco to join us. I don't propose that we share any of what we've discussed with Draco, especially not why there may be a special need to protect Harry. Any objections?"

"Not unless he behaves like an arrogant git," said Ron.

"His mother did help me," said Harry.

"Good enough for me," said Ginny. No other voices were raised, so Professor McGonagall asked her to fetch Draco.

It was not an arrogant git that followed Ginny up the stairs. In fact, Draco looked very small and was noticeably shaking, with dried tear tracks brushed off both his cheeks. He stopped and stood awkwardly halfway into the room.

"My parents have left," he blurted out. "I think the Death Eaters are chasing them. My mother says I have to stay here for protection, because they want to kill me too. I just wish I could go and protect my mother. I'm not a child. I'm not sure what to think. My mother saved Potter, and Voldemort is dead, and my father doesn't seem to care, and nobody in Slytherin will look at me. I wanted to be in the fight, but my parents kept me in a corner like a child, while even Colin Creevey was fighting. I thought I was a favorite of Voldemort, but mother says I was just supposed to die so Voldemort could punish my dad. Then he was going to kill me just to make his wand stronger. Voldemort and Aunt Bella always terrified me. I guess most of you wish I were dead, and aren't too happy to see me."

"Don't worry," said Harry, "Professor McGonagall asked us to watch your back, and we will. I'm not sure you've reformed, but I've learned to trust the Headmaster's judgment. If you behave we won't have a problem."

"I'm not going to give you a sleeping potion; I want you all to be reasonably alert", McGonagall said. "Harry, keep your wands handy, and I'd sleep under the cloak if I were you. The rest of you, spread out around the room and sleep on the floor. Dumbledore and I will keep watch. George, why don't you sleep opposite the stairs and keep your wand out. Ron and Hermione behind the desk, Luna and Miss Weasley behind the Pensieve cabinet …. Where's Miss Weasley? Potter, I'd better be able to tell Molly there's nothing improper going on under that cloak! Draco, over here by me."

"Just huddling together for warmth, Professor."

"You're acting like you think we are really in danger tonight", said Hermione, nicely diverting the Professor from Harry and Ginny.

"Let's just say that a long and active life has taught me that it is wise to practice an over-abundance of caution."


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter 1-3 The Flight From Hogwarts**

"I don't understand why you're not talking to me, Lucius. What I did, I did for our son. Draco would have either died in the fight or Voldemort would have killed him afterwards if he had won. He thought you betrayed him and was determined to torture and punish you. I couldn't let that happen. You heard what he said about strengthening his hold on the Elder Wand, so you know how little he valued Draco's life. "

"I would have kept him safe, Narcissa, and I would have gotten back in the Dark Lord's good graces. He knew I served him faithfully in the past and would have forgotten and forgiven a mistake once he killed Potter. Now we have no friends anywhere in the Wizarding world. I'm not cut out to be a farmer and neither are you. Poverty won't suit me."

"If you keep your pledge to McGonagall, she'll keep Draco safe until this dies down and he can take care of himself. That's all I want. With your financial skills, you can make us a new fortune. We're not going to be paupers."

"Don't be so sure there is still a we. I like to be involved in the major decisions affecting my family. I'll do just as much as McGonagall demands, and just to save Draco, but don't assume that I am happy or McGonagall's idea of a good citizen or even that I want to join you anytime soon. In a week or so McGonagall's going to know at least some of what I've been up to, so I'd advise you to be nowhere near her or Draco. That Witch was Dumbledore's agent through and through and I don't trust her any more than I trusted him. They both hated us on principle."

"I didn't volunteer to examine Potter and I didn't have any chance to consult you. I knew the Dark Lord picked me to taunt us both. I was terrified for our son and when I saw the pulse in Potter's neck, I knew that prolonging whatever Potter had planned was my only chance to save Draco, so I took it. I trust you would have done the same, or maybe I fear you wouldn't have. But this is not the time for recriminations. We'll talk later and figure this out. It's time for us to be moving toward the gate. I'm to leave first. Give me an hour start and then get off to the City. I don't know where I'm going to be going yet, but I'll contact you at your office. Can you at least not scowl at me? Goodbye. Draco is safe, that's the important thing. I'm going to lure away the pursuit."

"Please don't be brave, dear. That was never your strength. I think you'll be long gone before anyone misses us. But just in case, I'll make a more obvious exit. I won't have anyone saying I allowed my wife to clear the danger from my path. I think I could forgive you for that thing with Potter, but Snape, behind my back, and taking Bella with you? With Bella there, you might as well have asked the Dark Lord to serve tea for the three of you."

At that moment Professor Sprout apparated behind them with a soft bang. "Proceed toward the gate as planned, Sir. Hide in the bushes and someone will come to open the gate in two hours. Do exactly what he says. Madam, if you will come with me".

"I thought I was leaving by the path towards Hogsmeade."

"There's been a change of plans. Follow me quickly."

Narcissa allowed her arm to be grabbed and felt herself hustled back down the path toward the castle. They walked for about 100 paces, hugging the shadows, when a bright flash appeared above the castle.

"Hold tight, dear, we're on a very tight schedule," said Professor Sprout, and as the flash started to fade, Narcissa found herself being apparated in Professor Sprout's wake. Even adjusted to the night as her eyes were, Narcissa found herself unable to make out the surroundings in the dark, dank confines in which she found herself. Professor Sprout had caught her by surprise and she found herself near retching on a rough, hard surface and trying to regain her breath.

"Remember your promise dear. This is where I leave you," said Professor Sprout, and with a pop, she had vanished.

Narcissa sat still, listening for any sounds that might indicate she was not alone or give some hint of her location, but she heard nothing over her own labored breathing. She wondered if she were in the basement lockup of her own home. Maybe Lucius had been right and she had been foolish to trust Professor McGonagall. This whole escape seemed designed to keep her off balance. As she sat listening, she heard the faint shuffle of feet as someone stealthily and unerringly crept closer and closer to her. She tried to calm her breathing, and remain perfectly still, fearful that her excited panting had revealed her location to an unknown assassin. Before she could bring her breathing totally under control, she realized that the footsteps had stopped.

A familiar voice said "follow me mistress" and she felt a soft touch on her arm, heard a pop and felt herself once again hurtling through space. This time she landed in a familiar hallway.

Lucius Malfoy discovered that he did not enjoy hiding behind bushes. It made him feel vaguely foolish and was a constant reminder that he was feeling a little more frightened than he ought to be. His nerves were already tightly wound and were further set on edge when a bright starburst had appeared above the castle. He half expected or feared to see a Death's Head appear amidst the flare, but it quickly subsided to nothing. McGonagall had confiscated his wand, so he was kneeling on the damp grass, with his cane clutched protectively in his right hand, hoping that it could be the match for a wand, if he caught a potential assailant unawares. If anyone was going to block his escape, they were most likely to do so just within or outside the gate. It seemed silly to view the gate as much of a barrier, with whole sections of the wall having been torn away, but he assumed that some renewed magical defenses had been erected.

Two hours is a long time to kneel behind a bush with a heavy cane held at the ready above your head, so when the appointed two hours had elapsed, Lucius found himself sitting, with the cane lying across his lap. He felt he was not at his dignified best when he heard a whistled tune and the clanking of a ring of keys. He had at least calmed himself sufficiently to realize that the figure approaching him in the dark was moving too loudly to be an assailant. He soon saw the familiar figure of Professor Sprout, who passed him and went to unlock the gates.

"Comfy, are we, but you need to get a move on. I'm going to open the gate and when I do I want you to go through at a trot. You'll have five seconds and then the barrier will be back in place and the gate locked. I'll throw out a wand so you can apparate to your office. I'd be quick about it, if I were you, no telling who's waiting outside the gate."

Professor Sprout put the key in the lock and stood frozen beside the gate. As another blast of light flared above the castle, Sprout turned the key, shove the gate open, and with a cry of "move it mister", shot a few curses into the night beyond the gate and stepped aside as Lucius Malfoy approached the gate at a full run. She shoved the wand into his hand, with the business end pointed at himself. In an instant he was outside the gate and heard the old metal hinges swinging closed. He would later consider himself lucky to successfully grab the wand from Professor Sprout, and luckier still that in the awkwardness of the nearly fumbled exchange, he had tripped on the gravel and found himself face down on the grass beside the path. He barely had time to recognize that he was lying on the ground with a very sore nose, when two curses came out of the night and sailed over his head to explode against the magical barrier around the gate.

"Remember your promise," said Professor Sprout in a loud whisper. "Straight to your office and get the job done."

"Not bloody well likely, woman," snarled Lucius as he rotated the wand in his hand and vanished with an unnecessarily loud bang.


	4. Chapter 4

**Chapter Four – The Dawning of a New Age**

I awoke in darkness and to the unusual but certainly not unpleasant sensation of a warm arm wrapped around my shoulder, perhaps a little too far front to please McGonagall. I heard Harry's soft breathing and apart from feeling entirely happy, felt a sudden hope that I did not snore in my sleep. It wasn't a question I had thought to ask my roommates. I decided to just lie there quietly, enjoying the warmth and the peace of a fresh day. In the undisturbed grandeur of this office, it was possible to pretend for an instant that the castle outside the office wasn't in ruin and filled with rubble and dead bodies. I retreated to that pretense and lay very still, enjoying the peace. I felt bad about doing so, but as thoughts of Fred intruded on my reverie, I shoved them aside into a mental box marked 'later'. I focused on the sensation of Harry's arm against my chest. Finally, I was exactly where I wanted to be. As I lay quietly, I heard Harry's soft whisper "Ginny, are you awake too?" I gave a little nod and he continued whispering "It's a joy and relief just to lie quietly like this and hide out from all our responsibilities. I could happily just lie here forever.

"This is probably not the right thing to say at a time like this, but just before I woke up, I had a dream of Colin Creevey lying dead and Wood and Neville carrying him ever so gently back to the castle. I remembered how he used to follow me around like a little puppy when he was a first year. He was still so small. I knew I was responsible for his death and it made me feel so selfish that Colin died trying to protect me. I feel responsible for all the students and everyone who died, because I chose to seek out Voldemort for killing my parents. While I was trying to be brave enough to keep walking toward Voldemort and still needing my parents for support, I thought how brave Colin was to do what he did all on his own. I saw you near Colin and you were being so strong and so kindly comforting a first year girl, who was crying and begging not to have to fight anymore."

Now I felt guilty for my thoughts, but responded neutrally. "I had a sense at the time that you might be nearby."

"I wanted to stop and hold you and thank the little girl – I don't even know her name - and tell her that I was going to Voldemort so that she wouldn't have to fight anymore, but I knew once I hugged you I would want to stay, and then doing what I had to do would be even sadder and harder. So I focused on Colin and Mom and Dad."

I knew Harry was wrong, but didn't quite know what to say. "Colin was a wee wizard with a mighty heart. And he was there of his own free will, fighting a battle that was so important to him that he broke the rules and snuck back into Hogwarts. You inspired him and were kind to him and in a way I think he loved you. So he wanted to protect you, but not because you made him fight your fight, but because he always felt, we all always felt, that you were fighting our fight, and that we couldn't win our fight without you"

I sensed that Harry was still troubled, but perhaps a little comforted as he continued. "I know Voldemort was bad for everyone, but I always had a special link to him. Even before I heard the prophecy, I knew that I was the only one who could kill him. So, all the other deaths were unnecessary. They couldn't kill Voldemort. I could. I felt stronger, and happier with others by my side, but it always seemed too selfish, like my task was too heavy and I was unfairly putting others at risk to carry part of my load and to make my personal quest less unpleasant. I couldn't bear it if something happened to Ron, or Hermione, or you. It would be worse than when my mother was killed and a lot worse than if I died."

I suddenly had the shocked realization that I was sensing Harry's mood and even what he was about to say before he said it. "I know Harry, and you don't have to keep whispering. When you're this close and we're touching, I think your words and feelings just sort of flow into my head."

{You try talking without whispering and let me see if I can still hear you.}

{{ - }}

"Did you get that, Harry? I said you have to stop being so hard on yourself. Don't you see that Dumbledore chose you for this quest and groomed you to want it. If you had turned away from the quest, Dumbledore would have just refocused you. He needed for you to succeed and knew that your chances were best with Ron and Hermione at your side. He also needed others to carry on if something happened to you as well as him."

{Nope. I don't hear your words unless you speak them. All I can say is that your whisper is softer and has more color than Ron's or any other whisper I can remember.}

"That's a start, Harry. We'll keep working on it. And I think this whisper channel should remain our private secret. But for now, I think we should see if the others are awake. I wouldn't want you to pull back this blanket and cloak and find Professor McGonagall looking down at us. I'll think about what you said, and we can whisper some more later."

I felt Harry using his free left hand to slowly ease the blanket and cloak off of our heads and then to reach for his wand. I saw the dawn streaking through the office shutters and several immobile bodies scattered around the room. A distinct and vaguely familiar snore was coming from the direction of George. I hoped I didn't sound like him. Everyone was still and seemed to be sleeping, but I couldn't tell if Draco was faking. I turned and saw McGonagall seated near the mouth of the stairs, with her wand casually pointing into the opening. Harry saw her at the same time and as she saw her head turning toward us, he started to move, but I reflexively shoved his other arm off of my chest, before her eyes reached us; dumb, dumb, really dumb.

{[Is she upset with me? I have to be more careful where my hands are. Still, I can tell my arm would have been feeling very contented, if it had been able to feel anything at all. I hope in the dim morning light it took a while for the Professor's vision to focus on us.]}

"It's fine Harry. I'm just jumpy with Professor McGonagall here."

{Good.} That thought and a little wave of warmth made me feel better, but Harry still got up too quickly, and I felt our mental link break as he walked with a too deliberately confident stride over to Professor McGonagall, at the same time as he was trying to shake some feeling back into his arm. The combination cut through the bravado and gave him a more than slightly comical attitude, like he was trying to pretend that some greater power had not just bitten the hand that was caught in the cookie jar.

"Did we have a quiet night, Professor?"

"Some of us did, Harry. I'd be cautious with Ron, if I were you. I don't think he recognizes you as his future brother-in-law just yet"

I looked over and saw Ron sleeping peacefully, but lying very, very close to Hermione, with his arm on her waist. "I don't think I have to worry too much about that, Professor," I said as I sidled up to Harry and the professor.

McGonagall and I exchanged brief, involuntary fierce glances, but her mouth softened and she said "Very well, Harry. And to answer your question, nobody bothered us, but there were some curses fired at Lucius Malfoy, as he left by the gate at 2:00 A.M. I don't think all of his Death Eater friends are totally pleased with him at the moment. I think he escaped unharmed, however, which is a good thing, since he has some work to do for us. I'll tell you about that later."

I stood in silence as they talked and eventually, McGonagall cleared her throat as acknowledgement of my presence, and said "good morning, Miss Weasley", before quickly looking away.

McGonagall immediately stood up and motioned her wand toward the shutters, which sprung open, filling the office with sunlight. "Up and at it, my comrades, we have much work to do today."

Another wave of her wand produced a parade of house Elves bearing silver trays of jam and toast and eggs and bacon and big tumblers of orange juice. "I always like a hearty breakfast before doing battle. Give Ron a shake, will you Hermione. Gather round and put your plates on the table. I'll give you your morning assignments while we eat."

Her wand emitted sparks for a third time, and two Patronus cats leapt down the stairway and away from us.

"George, I want you and Draco to go with Professor Slughorn to the main gate, to meet Rita Skeeter, who's arriving on the 10:00 A.M. train. The Minister wanted her to see Voldemort's body, so that the whole Wizarding community can be assured he is dead. Then you are to burn the body, in her presence - - we'll have no resurrections on my watch. Remind Rita that she is to see me before she leaves. I have approval right on anything she writes, as well as the photos."

"Neville and Luna – will you please help Professors Trelawney and Sprout plan a memorial service for this evening for Headmaster Snape and the students who died. We'll finalize the details when we all get together here for lunch. Tell the students that there will be a special train to take them home this evening. Owls have gone out to their parents. Tell the students that I'll explain everything at dinner, but that there will be no exams this term. And Luna, will you send an owl to your father and ask him to cover the ceremony?"

"Ron and Hermione – there are parts of this castle that you haven't seen yet. A team of Goblins is responsible for running the utilities. Yes, without the Goblins you couldn't take a hot bath, have clean water to drink, or an unpolluted lake. Most of them are helping Hagrid and the Giants to repair the castle walls, but their chief is still in the cavern. You will meet Professors Flitwick and Weasley and follow them to the cavern. Take one of the house Elves with you, Hermione. They know how kindly you view magical creatures big and small. I need for you to begin some delicate negotiations on behalf of the school. Professor Flitwick will fill you in on the parameters and assist you in negotiations. He is my expert on Wizarding, and I guess more appropriately, Goblin law."

"Harry and Miss Weasley will come with me to check on the girls' lavatory. Enjoy your breakfasts."

As we were finishing our breakfasts, Hermione asked sheepishly, "Professor, would you mind if we ducked back to the towers for a quick bath before we set out on our morning duties?"

"Nonsense, Hermione. We just don't have the time. Besides, I remember fondly the days during the last Wizarding wars when Dumbledore, Sirius, and I lived rough on the ground for weeks at a time, either fleeing or chasing the Death Eaters. Terrifying times, but times that stirred the blood and I never want to forget, ah, the smells of war."

"Well, I can do very well without the smell of Ron", said Hermione as she pointed her wand at him, "descuzzify totalis."

"Hey, that was very personal", said Ron. "You could at least have warned me first."

"Don't be silly. Harry won't mind if I clean him up a bit."

"I think I'll take care of that," I replied as I pointed my wand at Harry and repeated the spell. Ron gave me an all-too-familiar big brother scowl, but I just looked away.

As we rose from breakfast to go about our assignments, McGonagall asked George to help her return the Pensieve to its cabinet. She thanked George over effusively, and shouted "to the ramparts, comrades" as we strode down the stairs in pairs to meet the Professors we were to assist. I wasn't quite sure what to make of this new McGonagall. Hermione was very sure: "she's trying to figure out how much we'll allow her to boss us around, like we we're little second levels. She may think I'm too worried that she's addled in the head to notice how she just orders us about, even though we're no longer her students and never joined the Order."


	5. Chapter 5

**Chapter Five – A Good Morning's Work**

We separated at the foot of the stairs and McGonagall led Harry and me through oddly deserted corridors to what I will always consider the 'Moaning Myrtle' bathroom.

As we entered the bathroom, the Professor called out "are you here Myrtle?"

We heard a brief gurgle in the plumbing, then a stall door rattled, and Myrtle whooshed out to stop in front of the professor. Not being on an exterior wall, this lavatory was undamaged. I personally registered every untouched room of the wounded castle as a psychic victory and offering of hope that my school would continue.

I realized that Myrtle was already answering "… a lot of frightening sounds of battle, but couldn't see too much from the drains. I'm glad you are still alive, you were my favorite teacher. But," and her shimmering form took on a more pathetic, shaking appearance, if that were possible, "is he still alive?"

"Don't worry, dear, you're safe, Voldemort is dead," soothed McGonagall.

"Not him! My Draco, is he still alive?"

"Yes Myrtle, he was not involved in the fight, but he is now hiding from the Death Eaters at Hogwarts, under my protection, and ahem, of course Harry's protection."

"Would you please ask him to visit me in the prefects' bath?"

"He's carrying out an important assignment for me now, but if you help us, I'll send him to the bath tonight".

"Thank you. What do you want me to do?"

"First, I'd like to know if you've noticed anything unusual in this bathroom or the college drains since yesterday afternoon. Second, I'd like you to leave us alone here and go scout out the rest of the drains. I want to know if anything unusual happens inside the piping over the next several days."

"I haven't noticed anything, but I'll go check the drains. Remember about Draco." With a whoosh and a gurgle, Myrtle was gone and we were clearly alone.

"Now, Harry," said McGonagall, "I want you to try to open the entrance to the Chamber of Secrets, by speaking in Parseltongue."

Harry stood very still with a focused worried look on his face as if he were about to argue for his life. I forced a look of encouragement onto my face as he tried an "open sez-a-me" in snake talk, but nothing happened. His mouth screwed up as he focused hard and tried again, but the sink did not move at all. He glanced over and it seemed he had detected what he interpreted as a questioning look on my face. I grabbed his hand, and willed the sink to respond as he again faced the snake-adorned spigots and again addressed the sink. His sense of dread washed through me, like a chill wave, which left even my toes frozen.

{Nothing at all. I can't do this. What did you hear?}

"I didn't hear any snake talk Harry, just plain English commands to the sink," I honestly replied.

McGonagall gave an encouraging smile, "It's as I suspected, Harry. That part of you died when Voldemort removed the bit of himself from your mind. It is not a serious matter. I'm not at all sure you'll need that skill again, but it might be interesting to experiment with trying to relearn it. I've heard it is far easier to relearn a language than to learn it for the first time. We might be able to better understand if Voldemort has had any ongoing effect on your thinking by seeing how easily you can relearn Parseltongue. I wonder where I can find a tutor. "

"I'll pass for now, Professor. That was always the freakiest of my skills and I was never happy with it. It frightened the other students, even my friends."

"Fine. Now please answer me honestly. Have you had any headaches, or felt you were connected to Voldemort, or had any unusual vivid dreams, since your duel with Voldemort."

"No. I dreamt of Colin Creevey, but it was a normal dream." {[worried] Perhaps not all that normal. I was sweating when I awoke.}

"That's encouraging. I think we can assume there is not any remaining link. I think your behavior has been quite normal and it's an encouraging sign that you were able to mend your old wand. That shows you still have a lot of magical powers remaining. I'd like to try a few more tests, while we're alone in the loo. First, I'd like you to produce the brightest light that you can, from both of your wands."

Harry's face betrayed momentary surprise. "Actually, I still have three wands, Professor, I have my wand, Draco's, and I still have Dumbledore's."

"That's fine Harry. I think you should hold onto Dumbledore's wand a little longer. I've asked George to have a close look at Draco as they deal with Voldemort and the bodies of the other Death Eaters. If George says Draco passed that test, then I think it will be time for you to give him his wand back. Now, let's try a light from each wand."

"Lumos!" The tip of Draco's wand lit up and with a brief flick, Harry sent a ball of light rolling off the end of his wand. We watched it swell to fill the far corner of the room.

"Lumos! His wand was alight and a quick flick of his wrist sent a very large ball of light that bounced off the far wall and lit the whole room with mid-day intensity.

"Lumos! The tip of Dumbledore's wand lit up and Harry was able to expel a glowing ball that lit up the room so brightly that I was forced to close my eyes.

"That skill seems fully intact, Harry. Now, if you would use the wands to lift me a few inches off the ground. I'm looking for strength plus control. I don't want you standing me on my head or bouncing me off the ceiling."

Harry glanced at me for encouragement and tentatively pointed Draco's wand at McGonagall. "Leviosum" passed his lips, with more firmness than I thought he was capable of. McGonagall skipped off the ground and he tracked her path with the wand, steadying her a few feet off the ground, with just a little up and down bouncing. The wand was lowered and she fell to her feet, with a little stumble. Harry slid that wand back into his waistband, and drew Dumbledore's wand from his right sock.

"Leviosum!" he shouted in a calmer, but still firm, voice. The Professor's feet left the ground and she shot about 3 feet into the air, jerking back and forth as the wand shook a little in his hand. I saw him concentrate furiously as he slowly lowered her back to the ground, for a smooth landing. He now pulled out his own repaired wand.

"Leviosum!" The wand rose slowly and gracefully, to gently lift the Professor a foot and a half off the ground. It held her there a moment and then gently set her back on the floor. I couldn't tell if Harry was simply feeling more confident or if he had more control over his own wand.

McGonagall stepped forward and said "I think that was quite satisfactory, Harry. Now, I'm going to draw my wand, and I want you to disarm me."

She looked quite as nervous as Harry as she grasped her wand so tightly that her knuckles whitened and pointed the business end right at his scar.

"Expelliarmus!"

McGonagall's wand jerked up to point directly overhead and her arm jerked upward a little, but the wand stayed firmly within her grasp. She fought the wand for a few seconds, but it lapsed into tranquility. I saw that it had been Draco's wand as Harry slid it back into his waistband. He now drew his own wand and prepared to confront the Professor. There was a bead of sweat rolling past the scar as McGonagall took aim at it.

"Expelliarmus!"

McGonagall's wand and whole arm jerked violently, but she managed to hang onto it, even though the force of the curse lifted one foot off the ground. Harry looked a little less worried. He had a look of grim determination around his lips as he changed his wand for Dumbledore's. McGonagall tightened her grip on her wand and squared her body as she raised the wand, with a slight tremor in her hand.

"Expelliarmus!"

McGonagall's arm flew toward the ceiling and her wand squirted out of her hand to clatter off the ceiling, landing on the floor at her feet and bouncing off an ankle.

"Not as good as I hoped Harry, but better than I feared. We have just one more test to complete for today, and then I want to talk to you and Miss Weasley". She took a step back, as she asked Harry in a too casual tone "which wand is that in your hand now Harry?"

When he answered "Dumbledore's" she instructed him to switch it for his own and as he did so, she sucked in her breath and took another step back. "Time to duel, Harry. En Garde, and Expelliarmus!"

Harry started to raise his wand too slowly, and it flew against the far wall.

"I think you trusted me too much and I caught you by surprise, Harry. Let's try that again."

I retrieved Harry's wand for him and stepped back to let him face McGonagall. They raised their wands at the same time and shouted "expelliarmus" in unison. Harry was thrown back against the sink and his wand bounced off the mirror and into the basin.

McGonagall said "that is about as I expected and enough exercise for both of us for a morning. I suggest that if you have the need to really defend yourself in the near future, that you use Dumbledore's wand. I don't dare test it in your hand, but I think you will have more success with it in an actual attack. Meanwhile, as you and Miss Weasley now seem to be special friends, I suggest the two of you spend some time practicing protective spells each day in the Room of Requirement. Use your own wand for that. Now, let's find a more comfortable spot in an empty classroom, where we can have a talk."

We left the girls bathroom and soon were surrounded by rubble as we walked down several empty corridors, Harry's and my feet stirring up mortar dust, which really did smell as if it contained the ground bones that legend said were used to build Hogwarts. I wasn't paying much attention to our surroundings as we followed McGonagall to the basement. I was trying to make sense of her experiments. I noticed that Harry looked troubled. So since I did not think McGonagall could see behind her back, I reached out for Harry's hand, to find out what he was thinking.

{ [Generally upset, noticing the renewed connection] I'm worried that I can't defend myself and it doesn't help having Draco around. I'm not happy about giving him his wand. You noticed how afraid McGonagall was of dueling me with Dumbledore's wand. I can't tell whether she thinks it might injure her, or she is afraid of winning it away from me and having responsibility for the thing. I'm not at all sure that it didn't just witness her defeating me and is now hers rather than mine, anyway. I didn't think about it at the time, and don't know if she did, but that was probably really dumb. I don't know if the wand knows the difference between practice and a real fight. Since the Professor already defeated me, I don't think you can win Dumbledore's wand from me in practice, but we'll definitely be practicing with my own wand. I think I trust her, but in any case, I don't think we should let the Professor get her hands on Dumbledore's wand. Agreed?}

As I dropped his hand, I gave as soft an "uh huh" as I thought only Harry would be able to hear, but McGonagall turned her head and asked "yes, Miss Weasley?"

Seeing, that we were approaching the door to Professor Snape's old office, vacant since he became headmaster, I replied "I just realized that we must be going to meet in Professor Snape's old office."

"Yes Miss Weasley," said McGonagall as she unlocked the door and motioned us inside. She walked around the desk and motioned us to sit in two of Professor Snape's guest chairs. "Would you please lock the door, Harry, and reach down that silver globe on the shelf next to you." He handed her the globe and she depressed a knob on its top surface and set it down on the desk between us. "This should protect us from eavesdroppers."

"Harry, I know that Molly will insist that Miss Weasley completes her seventh year at Hogwarts, but unfortunately I need to know about the rest of you before dinner tonight. I want to calm the other students and their parents and feel I have to put a full staff in place before they go home tonight. I want to announce Molly and Neville as Hogwarts' new professors at the start of the banquet. I think it would also be a big confidence booster if I could say that you, Ron, and Hermione were coming back. Draco will be here and he is going to need protection and at least some fellow students who, even if they don't like him, have some appreciation of his situation. Beyond that, this morning's experiments convince me that you are going to need the protection of your friends for a while."

"I'm still thinking seriously about it, Professor," said Harry, "but with this morning's results, I'm not at all sure that I shouldn't leave immediate, bury Dumbledore's wand, and hide out at Grimmauld Place. I've fulfilled Professor Trelawney's prophecy and I think my work is done."

I quickly interjected "I don't think you did at all badly this morning. Given the death of Voldemort, it's natural that you're going to view 'expelliarmus' as the deadly equivalent of 'Avada Kedavra', at least for a while. You killed Voldemort after you lost the horcrux piece of you and you mended your wand after that. You are still a very capable Wizard".

"Well, yes, Miss Weasley, but that's a bit beside the point, isn't it? I understand, Harry. I agree that your initial quest is reaching an end and that your future is not necessarily as a fighter against Death Eaters. But, please consider that you are a hero and have proven yourself to be a leader. Hogwarts and the Wizarding world accepted you as a leader as much because they trusted that you care about them, as because you seemed to have unique skills in fighting Voldemort.

"As your teacher and headmaster, I feel I owe you the hard truths as well as the well-earned pats on the back. The truth is that your victories over Voldemort were unique. They were the product of the link between the two of you and of Voldemort's arrogance. He underestimated you - really all of us - and fought traditional static duels. He thought it demonstrated his superiority and he thought he couldn't lose.

"I'm sure you've thought back on your battle at the Ministry of Magic. In a wide-ranging fight like that, the ability of one side to apparate quickly and precisely over a very small distance allows that side to strike from all directions and be repeatedly shooting at their opponents' backs. You and your friends have not learned these fighting skills. The remaining Death Eaters are forewarned, and they would devour you if you met tomorrow. I realize much of your Defense Against the Dark Arts training has been worse than useless and that you've been your classmates' most effective tutor in these skills. I promise you that if you and your friends return next year, you will be taught these mobile fighting skills. Molly knows them and the Minister has agreed to provide a young auror to our staff next year to begin your apprenticeship and instruct your friends. You haven't even passed your apparating test yet. You're just not ready for the outside world.

"I see your doubts concerning my assessment. Again, think back to your pursuit of Professor Snape after he killed Dumbledore. He was trying to avoid injuring you and was running away, basically with his back to you. This was before your skills were degraded when Voldemort killed part of you. Even still, the best you could do, shooting at Snape's back with what you thought was a killing curse, was to anger him. You tried other curses, but you couldn't disarm or drop him. What does that tell you about your fighting skills against an experienced opponent?"

"They seem pretty lame when you put it like that," said Harry, his head dropping a notch.

"I didn't tell you that tale to insult you, Harry, or to make you feel less confident of your talents. You bested Draco and were able to teach skills to third year students that an experienced Defense Against the Dark Arts professor would have difficulty imparting. I can honestly say that I considered you an exceptionally talented sixth year student, but I wanted to remind you how much difference there is between the skill of a Death Eater and even the best sixth year, especially a student who lost as much instructional time to botched teaching as you did. You are largely self-taught, which makes you all the more remarkable. I'm not sure you weren't more talented as a sixth year than Tom Riddle was. You've heard the tales, but if you haven't lived the Wizarding Wars as I have, you can't really grasp how much experience most Death Eaters have in killing and torture. You're very honorable, Harry, and you've never killed anyone on purpose. Your average Death Eater would have no qualms shooting a killing curse into your back from ambush, and might well recruit a couple friends to help. You may know that, but you just don't feel in your gut all that you would be up against, facing Death Eater ambushes outside Hogwarts. They can be anywhere. You were able to roam fairly safely in the past, because Voldemort reserved you for himself, and ordered his Death Eaters not to kill you."

Harry was looking extremely shaken at this point. McGonagall seemed to read my thoughts that she had pounded Harry more than enough to make her point, and had better move quickly to a new topic.

"On a different subject, Harry, I know you also remember your past experiences with Rita Skeeter and with the Ministry trying to trot you out as a tame poodle to endorse the Minister. You're a bigger hero and celebrity today, and they will give you no peace. There are even people who want to draft you as Minister of Magic. Personally, I think you'll make a fine Minister in the future, but you're too young now, you haven't grown up in the Wizarding world, and you are only vaguely aware of the politics involved. There are many of our biggest politicians who would happily back shoot an opponent or critic, with words or with wand. And trust me Harry, you don't have to do or say much to be considered a critic or an opponent. I'll make another promise to you Harry. Spend another year at Hogwarts and you'll leave far better prepared to deal with an assassin, a news reporter, or a politician than you are today. I've planned some classes, tutoring, apprenticing, and adventures that should hone your skills and have you leaving Hogwarts looking like an experienced auror or Minister."

Harry reached out and surreptitiously touched my hand under the table.

{[extreme agitation] I'm not sure I want to stay, but I think she's telling the truth. The truth is she scared me witless, before she threw that candy out at the end.

Before I could read anything further, he moved his hand away.

"I don't want to be Minister - certainly not now, probably never. I've seen politicians in both the Muggle and Wizarding world, and I don't think I want to turn into a person like that. I'm still not sure I want to stay at Hogwarts and leave it to my friends to defend me."

"I think you still have more to accomplish here, Harry, both for yourself and on behalf of the school and Wizarding community. You have the best insight into Dumbledore's thinking. You have proven yourself to be adept at unraveling mysteries, and believe me there are many more mysteries that we need to unravel. As an example, Dumbledore left two magical cabinets filled with artifacts and records, which he wanted you to have. I have been unable to open those cabinets. Since you are a friend of Hermione's and a special friend of Miss Weasley's, I also think you should know that I have heard other prophecies in which they will play a key role in the future of the Wizarding community, and I have reason to believe your presence is needed to protect them and to allow them to fulfill their prophecies."

McGonagall closed her mouth as she was about to speak another sentence as Harry's hand shot out to find mine, with no surreptitiousness at all.

{[anger] If I hear 'special friendship' one more time in that tone, I'm going to scream and leave here tonight! [spiteful feeling] Is there anything she wouldn't say to convince me to stay? [rebellion]}

Harry dropped my hand before I could read anything further and before I had a hint of what he would do next.

"Professor", said Harry in an overly controlled tone, "you promised earlier that you would not hide anything from me. "

"That is correct, Harry."

"Well, remember that you said you and Dumbledore did a lot of rough campaigning in the last Wizarding wars. I'm still trying to understand Dumbledore and am wondering if you and he were also 'special friends', like Ginny and me?"

"Mr. Potter! I can assure you that Professor Dumbledore and I were never special friends. I don't know what terms to use with students, and I certainly didn't mean to offend you or Miss Weasley. But since you asked I'll tell you that Dumbledore was never particularly interested in Witches and I was never particularly interested in Wizards. "

"I'm sorry if I upset you professor or touched on something shameful. You realize, that was the first time in a day that you've called me Mr. Potter."

"It's the first time in a day that I felt it necessary to do so, Mr. Potter, and there is nothing at all shameful about the topic. It is simply impertinent and outside the proper realm of teacher/student discourse."

"I'm glad I didn't embarrass you Professor. Is it alright, then, if I share that information with Hermione, I think it's important."

This time I reached out myself and ostentatiously grabbed Harry's hand.

{[childish gloat/confusion/a little embarrassment/remorse/silent plea for help in walking back what may have gone too far] Was that a rude or inappropriate question? I was both annoyed and curious, so I just asked.]}

I managed another "uh huh" as I dropped Harry's hand and rutched in my seat.

"I think you'll find, Mr. Potter, that Hermione has known the answer to that particular question for a long time, but feel free to tell Mr. Weasley. I'm sure it will come as a great revelation to him."

I really wished that I could grab McGonagall's hand and learn what she was thinking. Her face suggested that she was both still a little angry but also amused at Harry's naiveté.

Now Harry reached out and touched my hand. {Did you know that? How dumb am I?}

I moved my hand away and said as calmly as I could to both of them "this is more than a little embarrassing, but I think I knew about Professor Dumbledore as a first year student and understood about Professor McGonagall when I saw her comforting Professor Trelawney, after Umbridge had thrown her out. I think we should move on to lunch now."

"I agree, but I still need an answer from Harry."

"Harry and I will be staying. I'll explain it to him after lunch." I avoided Harry's attempts to grasp my hands as we left the office and walked back to McGonagall's office.

In studiously avoiding both Harry and McGonagall, I was forced to observe the basement corridor. Amazingly, the basement seemed totally untouched by the war that had raged above it. Not the portion of the castle that I would have chosen to remain in pristine shape, but I suppose it was a start. Still, I was angered by the realization that Slytherin House must have avoided the destruction wreaked upon the rest of Hogwarts. That seemed grossly unfair.

This time students were milling in the corridors, but McGonagall had such a stern look that the seas parted to let us pass. I feared our classmates thought we were being led off to perpetual detention, which might not be far off the mark. I, at least, was still subject to Hogwarts discipline and McGonagall had been distinctly cool toward me all day. Just being present during Harry's transgression was likely to target me for McGonagall's wrath. No question that the Witch was angry, but hiding it beneath a scary calm. She needed Harry at Hogwarts. She didn't need me.

Instead of going straight to her office, McGonagall headed toward the Great Hall, suggesting that we had a couple hours before lunch, during which we could "help clear the rubble from the Great Hall. I want it to look almost normal for the end of term dinner." I was sure that this was punishment for Harry's questions, but McGonagall joined us in the" work. Harry and I levitated dust and rubble onto piles and McGonagall transformed the piles into useful building materials. A crew of Goblins installed the stones and glass as fast as McGonagall cranked them out. I had to admit that she had impressive skills. I was sweating by the time she called a halt and led us back to her office.

She stopped at the entrance to the Great Hall and turned back to face us. "Given our little spat, this may not be the best time to bring this up, but it is so important that I believe I must. Kingsley has contacted me and alerted me that several very important Ministry artefacts are missing. One of them is the brooch made by Gryffindor and Madam Ravenclaw. It is the symbol of the Minister of Magic. We could start afresh without the symbol, although its possession will add some legitimacy to Kingsley… but the brooch is more than that. It has magical powers and is needed to fully control the magical protections at the Ministry. Without it, the Ministry is more vulnerable to attack. Beyond that, it could be used to countermand my control of the Hogwarts magical defenses. They are already weakened and a Death Eater carrying the Gryffindor Brooch could likely turn them off from outside the walls. I'm not at all sure that Voldemort didn't use the brooch as part of his attack upon the Hogwarts defenses. You've searched out Voldemort's horcruxes. I wonder if you've come across the Gryffindor Brooch in the course of your adventures. I really don't know when it was lost, although I do know that Minister Scrimgeour had it. I don't recall seeing it in Thicknesse's possession."

As McGonagall stared intently at Harry, he asked the perfectly reasonable question "dunno, what does this brooch look like?"

"It's very old… it's round… mainly gold and red stones. I'd say it is perhaps four inches across and divided into for sections. Each section is gold, with a raised white eye-like thing in the middle of the section. Each eye has a gold iris with a dark red stone in the middle. The 4 sections are separated by a cross of red stones. A larger eye in the center interrupts the cross. The outside rim is a band of the same red stones, although the stones in a third of that band are missing. The damage is ancient and was never repaired."

"Haven't seen it, but I'll be on the lookout for it. You said there was another missing artefact."

"There is the Slytherin artefact used to apply the trace to children at birth or shortly after. Since Slytherin loathed arts and crafts, he repurposed an ancient artefact."

"I'm not a big fan of the trace," Harry told her. "I don't think I'd tell you where the Slytherin artefact was, even if I knew. It is best if it stays lost. I have ample reason to know that adults using magic are a far greater hazard than children using magic outside of Hogwarts could ever be. Sometimes the children need magic to protect themselves from adult magic."

"Given your attitude, I don't suppose it makes sense to describe the artefact. I'll just say that it is a very old statue of the goddess Astarte, probably brought to England by a Witch or Wizard far to the east. I'll also say that it is used to make certain that the trace is gone, as children pass beyond age seventeen, although the trace slowly decays away on its own."

This last comment caught both Harry's and my attention. "You mean that I still might carry the trace!" Harry was indignant.

"If it was never specifically removed in its entirety then, yes, enough remnant may still remain to trace your use of magic."

"Oh!"


	6. Chapter 6

**Chapter Six – What's The Matter Harry?**

"Excuse us, professor. Special friends like us need a few moments alone. We'll catch you up at your office."

"I already apologized for my use of that terminology, Miss Weasley, but even my gargoyle can tell that there's something up between you and Mr. Potter. I'm not objecting - it's very natural at your ages. Never mind, have your moment alone together. I'll speak to a few members of my faculty. You'll have to wait for me at the gargoyle. Even in its damaged state, it could do you serious harm, if you tried to sneak past it."

I dragged Harry into a quiet corner across from the gargoyle.

"What's the matter, Harry?"

"I think I'll leave Hogwarts with Ron, and I don't like the idea of us still carrying the trace, even if it is Shacklebolt getting the reports on our location."

"I understand that. I mean, what's really the matter?"

"I can't stand that I might get you and my friends killed, because the Death Eaters will come after me and I'm not able to protect myself."

"That's not fair. Except for the Parseltongue, I thought you passed all the tests this morning. You certainly leviosumed a lot of debris in the past hour. It takes a lot of magical strength to do what you did. You moved more big chunks than I did and even though I'm an athlete, I'm totally knackered. Don't be so hard on yourself. What's with this Eva whom McGonagall mentioned."

Harry told me the whole story of everything that happened after McGonagall dragged him away from us, including everything she said. Harry said this in an amazing mimic voice, which I'm sure captured every nuance of McGonagall's wheedling.

"So you disarmed Eva Duerr and McGonagall was taken by surprise and would be dead if you hadn't saved her. It sounds to me like your not the one who can't defend himself."

"She was overly tired and not at her most alert."

"You just came back from chasing horcruxes to fight the Battle of Hogwarts. You were half-killed by Voldemort. If McGonagall was overly tired, you were absolutely dead on your feet. You held it together a lot better than she did. I'm proud of you."

To accentuate that praise, I pulled Harry up against me and gave him a very passionate snog. I think I caught him a little by surprise with my intensity.

"I guess we really are special friends now, aren't we?"

"I certainly hope so, Harry. I've wanted to be your special friend for a long time. I don't care if McGonagall or Ron knows. I'm happy and I don't intend to hide my feelings."

I grabbed Harry again and snogged him. I held him against me even longer than I had the first time. I could sense waves of happiness and relief pouring off of Harry. I could also sense a little self-consciousness and outright fear.

"Witches are more passionate and forward than girls from your Muggle world," I explained to Harry.

"Don't go by what you've read in old Muggle books. Young Muggles don't call girls forward today. That's a Victorian expression. Today, they call that liberated. Muggle girls can be very aggressive in pursuing guys. Summer after fifth year, three girls walked up to Dudley and me and somewhere between begged and forced us to snog them. Well, Dudley didn't need much encouragement. I was too backward to like it. I was raised by Muggles, but I grew up in a broom closet. There weren't any girls in my broom closet."

"I know I am the most, I'll say liberated, girl you've experienced in either world. I know I worry you a little by trying to push us forward. I promise not to hurt you and you aren't going to hurt me by playing along. Mom won't mind. I'm almost officially an adult. I know you are the Wizard I want. Just saying."

"Okay, I won't worry about that. At least I won't try to worry about that. You know that if we are officially together, that makes you almost as big a target for Death Eaters as I am. I can't avoid being worried by that."

"Now you are in danger of making me angry. I fought in the Battle of Hogwarts. I fought the Carrows. I'm a damned fine Quidditch player. I can generally protect myself. You've saved me in the past and I'm more than willing to do the same for you. I like you. I like you an AWFUL lot, but we are not going to work as a couple if you insist on seeing me as somebody you must protect. Can't we just agree to protect each other? You still have a lot more fighting ability than McGonagall credits you with. She's dinged your confidence. I curse her for that, because we both know it was deliberate. It's a trick to convince you to stay at Hogwarts. I also want you to stay. We can talk more about that later. We'll take McGonagall up on her offer to teach us mobile fighting. I just know we'll both do great at it. Doesn't it sound like a super fit for Quidditch stars?

"Sorry, I'm gushing. There's McGonagall approaching the gargoyle. Give me a quick snog and we can rejoin her."

Harry granted my wish. I hated that McGonagall's face wore such an amused look as she saw us leaving our shadowy nook to approach her. Let her think the worst, as long as she stopped messing with Harry's head.


	7. Chapter 7

**Chapter Seven – Lunch With the Headmaster**

We reached the gargoyle in silence. McGonagall let us go first, as she made additional adjustments to the gargoyle. It seems that it had forgotten the password and she had addressed it very sternly. How was that even possible?

As we ascended the stairs, we were greeted with a medley of tempting smells and surveyed a sea of serving dishes with a variety of delectable treats. Our group had been the last to return from our morning exertions. It hadn't seemed like five hours had passed since we had followed McGonagall down the stairs - five very busy and tense hours. At least that time had ended on a pleasant note.

The food was very welcome. I was amused that my fellow 'comrades' had not dared to eat until McGonagall arrived and motioned them to seats, urging us to fill our plates as we wished. Harry did not wait, so neither did I. Politeness was one thing, allowing McGonagall to appoint herself Queen was quite another.

She entered her office, just as Harry and I were sitting down with our plates. She gave us a half stare, but when she spoke it was to tell the others "no need to stand on ceremony, you should just go ahead and eat." I had the sense that this was not at all what she had originally intended to say, but had censored herself.

As we were reaching for desserts, McGonagall pushed her plate aside and called for "Reports! I'll go first. Harry, Miss Weasley and I have determined that the girls' lavatory is intact, the Chamber of Secrets has not been opened, nor has anything left it by other routes. We have taken measures to ensure the inspection of the entire drain system. Draco, I made an appointment for you this evening to meet Myrtle in the Prefects' Bath, I believe the two of you were in the habit of meeting there. By the way, I also need to know if you have agreed to stay on at Hogwarts.

"I hadn't mentioned, but should give fair warning that those returning for their seventh term after a year away will not be eligible for the Quidditch teams. But then, you'll have far more important and exciting things to occupy your time. Harry."

"I know that I have good reasons for returning to Hogwarts, Professor."

"I'd love to know what they are, mate," said Ron, "since I'm not at all sure we aren't better off setting off and getting on with our lives. We did pretty well on our own, this past summer. I have some places and things that I want to show Hermione and we have to go, uh, see her parents."

"You can do that this summer", said Harry, "and as for your question, it's complicated and I will need some time to collect my thoughts, but let me say that we seem to be needed here and I think we have more to learn. I'll get back to you on the rest, but you know that I need you and Hermione here by my side, if this is going to work."

"Report from Ron and Hermione," interjected Professor McGonagall.

"I didn't realize how really smart or how really, really angry the Goblins are," said Hermione. "They are willing to do what you want, but it won't be cheap. I think their feelings are hurt and they see more Wizard trickery. In terms of the new government, they don't know what they want, but they are interested in some legal changes. It's all in my report, and I've included appropriate legal footnotes and suggestions for our next proposal. And if I may say, I never realized what an interesting and complex setup the Goblins were running to give us our water, hot water, gas, and, um, to get rid of all the wastes. Why, just the mushroom pits …"

"Thank you Hermione. Have you and Ron decided to stay?"

"Yes, we have Professor. I'll explain it to Ron. You are staying here with me and your mother, aren't you?"

"Um, I guess so, but I'll miss Quidditch."

"Let's have your report, George."

"Rita Skeeter's article and photos are on your desk. I said you'd get back to her this evening. She is leaving with the students, but knows better than to interview any of them on the train. I think the story is quite satisfactory and the disposal of the bodies went as well as you could have hoped, in every regard. I've decided to return next year. Draco…"

"With someone firing curses at my father, I think my mother will be safer if I don't try to find her for a while. I'll be back for seventh level, and I'm going to stay at Hogwarts over the summer. That's what my mother asked me to promise."

"Very good. Can I have the report from Neville?"

"We've decided to have a silent service and to dedicate a smaller tomb for Headmaster Snape, next to Dumbledore's. We talked to the parents of the students that died, and they all preferred that their children be buried next to each other, here at Hogwarts. The Goblins and Hagrid prepared a memorial garden on the other side of Dumbledore's tomb, and the students will be buried there after dinner. We, and that includes the parents, think there should be a statue of Harry, to commemorate the defeat of Voldemort."

"I don't want a statue. I'm still here and others sacrificed a lot more than I did. I'm the only one that didn't have a choice about joining the fight. If we are going to have a statue of anyone, I want a statue of Colin Creevey, with his camera, as we found him after the basilisk attack. He deliberately snuck back on campus to join the fight."

"I understand, Harry", said McGonagall. "Neville, can you check with the parents and see if that is acceptable? Good. Now then, have you and Luna decided to stay on at Hogwarts."

"I'm thrilled to join the faculty, Professor. I'd better let Luna speak for herself."

"If the rest of the gang is staying, so am I."

"I have to meet with the faculty for the next couple hours, but we'll get back together here in my office after that. I have more assignments to discuss. Neville, please join the faculty back here in my office after you and Luna check with the parents. Now I'm going to have to shoo the rest of you out. George: Draco's wand seems to have been misplaced, would you please help him search the Entry Hall and grounds for it. It was most likely mislaid in a dark corner of the Entry Hall or under the shrubs right outside the entrance to the Hall. Thank you all, we're off to a good start, see you in two hours."

As we walked down the stairs, I saw Harry pull Ron aside and whisper that we all had to talk, with just ourselves. They agreed to meet in the Gryffindor common room in a half hour. As Ron and Hermione walked away, I barely remembered to whisper to Hermione "the password is oranges."

Harry wordlessly motioned me to follow him, out the front door, and across the lawn toward Hagrid's cottage. He drew to a halt at the spot where I had comforted the crying second year during the battle. We sat down facing each other, but far enough apart that I couldn't reach Harry.

"Can you help me organize my thoughts on why I decided to stay at Hogwarts?"

"Because you know that I have to stay and that I couldn't stand to be separated from you again. And because you learned yesterday that you can't make me safe by staying away from me. And because you know that McGonagall is right that we all need to learn mobile fighting. And because that was the only thing I could say after your question to McGonagall that wasn't going to destroy Dumbledore's Army on the very first day of its renewed existence. And because it's my turn to protect you. I'm a lot older than you were when you saved my life in the Chamber of Secrets. And because you want to learn what prophecies Hermione and I have to look forward to. And because I think you'd rather be with me and share whatever adventure I'm about to have. And because you wouldn't dare leave me alone at Hogwarts with my mother as a professor."

"Well, at least I had a good reason. I hope Ron's reason was as good."

"While we're alone, answer me this," I asked Harry, "am I just imagining things or does McGonagall really not like me?"

"I think Professor McGonagall is still in shock and feeling buried under her new responsibilities. She's a lot older than us and I don't think it's easy for her to talk to students as anything other than students. She's trying to convince herself that those of us who should have graduated this year and participated in the battle deserve to be treated as something more than students. You're a year younger and she's having problems with that.

"I wasn't always happy with the way Dumbledore treated me. After I first fought Riddle/Voldemort, I wanted to be treated as more of an equal in the fight, but Dumbledore and the rest of the Order saw me as a child they had to shield and protect."

"Or manipulate," I interrupted Harry, but he just nodded a bare acknowledgment and continued with what he was saying.

"I also think it will help a little if we sleep without the cloak tonight. I don't think Professor McGonagall wants us moving back to Gryffindor, yet. She's still worried and wants to watch over us at night and I think she doesn't know what she's going to do with Draco. He certainly can't move into any of the houses while the rest of the students are still here.

"In answer to your general question: you know I'm not much happier with bossy McGonagall than you are. It's just not the right time to rebel. I've perhaps already been a little more rebellious than makes sense. She is in charge of Hogwarts. We at least need an alternative base of operations before we cause a complete breach with her. Even with the bossiness, this is more pleasant than Grimmauld Place would be. Hermione, Ron, and I got on each others' nerves very quickly cooped up in that dark, depressing house.

"By the way, I'm not holding hands, because I want to be able to organize my thoughts and not just have my feelings pouring out. I'm not sure I wanted you to know either how upset I was when you told Professor McGonagall that I was staying or how very relieved I was that she didn't ask me to hand over Draco's wand at lunchtime. We're going to have to be a lot more careful, if we want to keep our secret. McGonagall will likely put all the hand holding down to stress and young love's special friendship, but she was definitely wondering what was going on. We should keep our new ability secret, at least until we understand it better ourselves, or really need it in an emergency.

"Trust me when I tell you that you definitely don't want the rest of the school to view you as the freak show that they saw me as for most of the first six years, and this could be a good secret weapon. Have you heard of any other instances like this?"

"No, I haven't, but it's not something I ever thought about before today. Do you think we should ask Hermione to do some library research or plan some experiments?"

"No, Hermione's not the only one who can do library research and plan experiments. You can, can't you? Just kidding, I'll help, at least with the experiments."

"Let's go, it's time for us to walk back and join Ron and Hermione."

We walked back in silence, holding hands, and with only happy feelings flowing from Harry. He dropped my hand as we approached the main entrance.

A worry struck me at that point and I asked Harry to stop. "I don't know what you're thinking, Harry, and please forgive me if you've already thought of this and planned what you are going to say. We need to meet with Ron and Hermione alone, but the Gryffindor common room is going to be packed when we get there and everybody is going to want to see you, and speak to you, and shake your hand. You're their leader and you have to thank them for joining you in the battle and tell them that things are going to be okay and they'll be going home tonight and you'll be here with them when they return."

"I hadn't really thought of what I would say, so thank you."


	8. Chapter 8

Chapter Eight – Return to Gryffindor

The fat lady had returned to her portrait and was not impressed by Harry's celebrity. "Haven't seen you here for a while Potter. I'll bet you don't know the password, so I can't let you in."

"It's oranges", I said, stepping forward. The fat lady frowned and let us into the common room.

Ron and Hermione were already in the room, surrounded by our fellow Gryffindors. Many turned as I stepped past the portrait, then burst into applause as Harry followed me into the room. Harry worked the room with confidence for the next fifteen minutes, although to my eye is was clear that in addition to not knowing the first years he had not paid a lot of attention to the prior year's first years – there was only one second year that I was sure he truly recognized and that was the little girl he had seen me comforting the day before. When he turned and saw her, his face froze and he wiped away a big tear. Then he gave her a big hug, saying thank you, thank you, with his face buried against her shoulder. A minute later, he kissed the crown of her head, wiped his eyes and straightened up. He raised his arms and asked to speak to the group.

"It's good to be back in Gryffindor. I wasn't away by choice this past year. I was at a wedding at the Weasley's, when we were invaded by Death Eaters and learned that Voldemort had taken over the Ministry of Magic. Frankly, Ron, Hermione, and I fled for our lives. We've been on the run this past year, but we were also seeking out Voldemort's secrets, so we could learn how to defeat him. The last of Voldemort's secrets was hidden by him here at Hogwarts, so we came here to take it back before he could. That is what brought him here and caused the final battle to be here at Hogwarts."

"I want to thank all of you for your part in the fight. Not just all of you who, especially those in Dumbledore's Army – students and graduates, who answered our call on your galleons, and risked your lives in the final battle against Voldemort, but all of you who fought the longer battle within Hogwarts against the Carrows and the other Voldemort supporters here at the school. The last time I was at Hogwarts was the day of Dumbledore's funeral. Tonight I'll be at the commemoration for Snape and all the brave students who died here yesterday. I don't want to give you too much detailed news, because Professor McGonagall is going to speak to you tonight. I just want to say, that when you return in the fall, Ron and Hermione and Ginny and I and even George Weasley will be back in this common room with you and Neville Longbottom will be back as a professor and our new house advisor. Again, thanks to all of you. And, if I could impose upon all of you, Ron, Hermione, Ginny and I need the common room for a quick meeting, before we go back to see Professor McGonagall. Thank you and I hope and expect to see you all before you leave for home tonight"

There was some more pleased murmuring and "thanks, Harrys and "you're welcome, Harrys and "see you laters, but in a few minutes the room was ours.

We sat in chairs in a semi-circle facing the fireplace, but a safe distance back, with vivid memories of hands and heads emerging from the floo network fresh in our minds.

Ron was the first to speak and I shouldn't have been surprised, but my jaw dropped as he burst out with "I want to know what you're up to with my sister!"

I opened my mouth to shout that he should mind his own business, but Harry leaned forward and said "I intend to be with her just as long as I expect you intend to be with Hermione."

Hermione said "shut up, Ron", at the same time Ron was saying "right, alright then."

"We have less than an hour and a lot of business to discuss", I said. "McGonagall gave a very brief report from our meeting and there was a lot of other serious news. First, Harry has lost some of his magical powers. He can't speak parseltongue and his wand work is not nearly as good as it was. We're going to have to protect Harry while he regains his skills. The fight with Voldemort took a lot out of him. We're going to practice until he gets it all back, except maybe the parseltongue, which was kind of creepy, but that may take a few weeks. Meanwhile, the biggest trouble may come when Draco gets his wand back. It's really sticking out of Harry's right shoe."

"I'll certainly stick by Harry's side if a certain someone will let me", said Ron.

"You'll have to", I said, "I think we'll be back in the tower bedrooms by tomorrow night and I don't know where Draco will be. But please, let me just quickly dump all this out and then you can all talk about it. While McGonagall was testing Harry's skills, she disarmed him with a curse. It wasn't Dumbledore's wand but that was in Harry's waistband and we're afraid McGonagall may have been trying to claim Dumbledore's wand".

"I don't really believe that", said Harry, "it was just a passing fear I had when I saw my wand fly out of my hand. But I wouldn't put it past her to think she was protecting me from people seeking to claim the wand. Problem is, even if I gave her the wand, the whole world would still think it was in my possession, and I was the guy they had to beat to get it. She did convince me that I was really stupid to talk so much about the wand in public yesterday. I painted a bulls-eye on my own back."

I wasn't pleased that Harry, so concerned about McGonagall and Dumbledore's wand just a couple hours ago, didn't support me on this, but I let it pass. I didn't want to fight with Harry or dampen the good spirits our snogging had created.

"Next", I said, "McGonagall came right out and said she knows of prophecies involving Hermione and me, and that we had crucial roles to play in the future of the Wizarding community and that Harry would have to help us, if we were to succeed. Unfortunately, she didn't tell us what the prophecies said. Is..."

"What! Why is just Harry supposed to protect you and Hermione and help you achieve your destinies? I'm certainly determined to protect Hermione. I'll help you and Hermione achieve your destinies. I'll make that a major goal of my life. I'll..."

"Perhaps she just mentioned Harry and not you, because Harry was sitting right in front of her and she was determined to scare or bribe Harry into staying at Hogwarts. That prophecy was just mind candy that she didn't think Harry could walk away from."

"You should know that prophecies don't work that way. We helped Harry fulfill his prophecy. So did Neville and Ginny. We weren't named in the prophecy. Neither was Harry, for that matter. Don't be jealous." The tone with which Hermione said this and my brother's expression as he listened to her convinced me that they had been spatting since we left them. Ah yes... Ron resented being told to stay at Hogwarts. I determined to take the heat off Hermione.

"I know you're not happy that Hermione volunteered you to stay at Hogwarts." I stared my brother down, until he blinked and looked away. "You know that Mom will force you to stay, anyway."

"I'm a full adult. I don't have to stay if I don't want to."

"Please don't be that way. You'll break Mom's heart. It will take her all term and more to recover from losing Fred. You have to stay - so does George. And you have to spend a lot more time with her than you would with your Dark Arts professor, even if it is embarrassing to have the other students think that your clinging to your mother. I plan to visit her a lot. She is going to need it. I'm glad she will have teaching to occupy her mind, but this is going to be really bad. Fred hasn't really fully sunk in yet, but it will. We'll be wrecks too. We have to support each other."

Ron looked surprised. "Okay, of course I'll do everything I can to help Mom. I know she's shaken, but she's stronger than you think. You saw what she did to Bella."

"That's different," Hermione told him with a knowing look. "She was protecting her only daughter. Now she's dealing with a lost son. We'll all have to help George. It must be just terrible to lose a twin."

Ron looked further surprised by the thought that George could possibly need his help. "If George needs help, of course I'm there for him - family."

There was a brief silence, so I asked "was that all Harry, or do you have more to report from our meeting with McGonagall?"

"Only that Professor McGonagall probably knows of these prophecies, because she and Trelawney are what she called 'special friends', and that I don't think Dumbledore knew about the prophecies."

"Wait", said Ron, "are you telling me that Trelawney is McGonagall's girl friend? I don't believe it. McGonagall has no use at all for tea leaves or crystal balls or telling your fortune from your palm. Did she really say that?"

"Really, Ron" said Hermione," I thought everyone knew about Trelawney and McGonagall. I've known for years. Did you know that Dumbledore was also gay and his old 'special friend' was Grindelwald?"

"I don't believe it!" said Ron.

"You really need to read more books and look at things more carefully", said Hermione. "Did you even pay attention to what Dumbledore said to Harry?"

"Order!", said I. "What are we going to do about Harry and Draco, and McGonagall and Dumbledore's wand, and how are we going to learn more about the prophecies"?

"I'll tell you what I'm going to do", said Hermione, "I'm going to take the first opportunity to catch Professor McGonagall alone and I'm going to tell her that we deserve to know what the prophecies say. I can believe she sees prophecies as real and tea leaves and magic balls as sham. After all, Trelawney was right on the Harry/Voldemort prophesy, although it was vague, and a lot of people tried very hard to make it come true. I'm not even sure Trelawney herself believes in tea leaves, it's a course she's required to teach.

"I am going to keep a close watch on how Professor McGonagall looks when she's around Harry and Dumbledore's wand. I don't think you can hide it here at the school, Harry. You'll have to take a trip this summer. And, we're all going to have to watch Draco when he's around Harry. Really, I don't think any of us should turn our back on him, once he has his wand. And we need a system to watch and see who he tries to communicate with. He may try to pass a message to one of the Slytherins who are leaving school tonight. I can't help thinking the Death Eaters have their spy inside our tent".

I commented on McGonagall's strange attitude, her seeming dislike of me, the way McGonagall had beaten on and begged to get Harry to stay at Hogwarts, and her response to Harry's question. After a lot of intense back and forth speculation, I thought Hermione analyzed the situation really well.

"I have to say", said Hermione, "I think Professor McGonagall is right to want us to stay. The troubles in the Wizarding world aren't over, we are personally in danger, Hogwarts is in danger, and the new Minister is in danger. Clearly, despite Harry's current problem and the need we all have for more training, she thinks we can be a big help in countering the coming troubles.

"She wants to be nice to us and to treat us, if not as equals, as close to equals as she is capable of. She is elderly and stuck in her ways. She has to or at least he wants to take on a lot more leadership than she did when Dumbledore was still alive and to deal with a lot more people. She is finding it awkward, but I trust her and think her heart is in the right place. One potential problem for us to think about, however – a lot of what we are seeing is a battle between Harry and Professor McGonagall over who is going to be the leader of our circle and of Dumbledore's Army. Ideally, she would like to keep our group separate from the Order of the Phoenix, but to be the leader of both groups, playing the same role that Dumbledore did with Harry. All these assignments she is giving us are necessary to get a lot of work done in a hurry and to give us some new experiences.

But, I think they are also planned to get us thinking that it is normal for us to take orders from her on matters relating to the Death Eaters and all the mysteries she spoke of. I think it's best to go along with her, at least for now, but to always keep in our minds that we have the final say on what we do. We may have to go our separate way, with our new circle, or Dumbledore's Army, or both. We may even have to leave Hogwarts, but I don't think we should push the issue, unless we have no other choice."

"By the way, Harry", said Hermione, "I thought you did a really fine job with the gang in the common room. You did better than Ron and I did."

"Ginny told me what to say", said Harry with a smile.

"I think she's good for you", said Hermione, "she reminds me more and more of me. Before you know it I'm going to be stumbling over her in the library."

Our time had expired and we had to hurry back to McGonagall's office.


	9. Chapter 9

**Another Meeting in McGonagall's Office**

McGonagall, George, Neville and Draco were already seated at McGonagall's desk, when the four of us crested the top of the stairs. I saw motion to my left and was surprised to see Mom returning to a seat at the desk with a cup of tea in her hand. She pointed to the clock with her other hand, in a gesture that clearly said "I'm disappointed that you're all late for your meeting with the headmistress."

Mom put down her tea and then walked over to give Ron and me a very un-professorial hug. As I wallowed in the comfort and sense of protection that my mother's hugs always gave me, a light went on in my head, but I instantly decided that I should keep this germ of an idea to myself, until I had the opportunity to test it out. Mom released me and moved on to Ron. "I got one too mate", said George. As Mom was releasing Ron, I thought I heard a whisper that sounded like "stop bothering Harry about your sister." Verbal and nonverbal messages delivered, we all got our tea and settled down for the meeting.

"Welcome back", said McGonagall, "you haven't missed anything except some social chit chat. To save a little time, I'll report for Neville that the parents of the children that were killed have agreed to the Colin statue as a memorial. There was a little dissention over separating the graves by House or by which side in the battle the student fought on. They turned out to be remarkably the same thing. In the end we decided that we should all be one school and go alphabetically. Professors Longbottom and Weasley have officially been added to staff and approved by the Ministry…"

With a slight whoosh, a sheet of paper flew out of the floo fireplace and floated into McGonagall's hand.

"Speaking of which", she said, grabbing the paper out of the air and glancing at its content, "it appears as if the Ministry has been getting some complaints from the Slytherin parents who weren't able to make it to Hogwarts before we had our troubles. It would appear, Draco, that they fear the faculty and I won't be supportive of your fellow Slytherin scholars in their time of grief. In any event, you and I must see what we can do to ease their minds. It would also appear that we can look forward to a visit from our old colleague Delores Umbridge. I hadn't realized she was still with the Ministry. Oh well, as I was saying, Professor Longbottom will be teaching herbology and Professor Weasley Defense Against the Dark Arts.

As I suspected at our last meeting, Professor Slughorn will be returning to retirement. He has agreed to stay on another month to help replenish our supply of potions. When he leaves, Professor Sprout will take over as the Potions instructor. She's always wanted more of a hand in what gets done with the things she grows.

Now, Draco, have you and George had any luck finding your wand?"

"No, Professor, we looked all over the Great Hall and the lawn near the main entrance. We found a couple of wands, but neither was mine. The last I saw my wand, it was in Potter's hand, when he killed the Dark Lord. Is it possible you've misplaced my wand on your person, Potter?"

"I don't think so", said Harry standing slowly and elaborately searching his clothes. Here's my wand, and here's Dumbledore's, and here's a pocket knife, and the cloth I wipe my glasses with, and a cookie in case I get hungry, and two knuts and a galleon."

"Very funny, Potter, but perhaps I should check for myself, if you don't mind."

"Not at all Draco, but be gentle, or I'll let you have it with Dumbledore's wand. You know, there are those who say the Elder wand loves to kill and will attack on its own if it senses that someone is accosting or has simply irked its rightful owner. But then, even my own wand has defended me, without conscious action on my part. I must say though, I am beginning to feel irked."

As he said this, Harry picked up Dumbledore's wand in his right hand and his own in his left and spread his arms wide in a mock greeting for Draco to begin his search. Despite an "ahem" from McGonagall, Draco was determined to search, but approached Harry very cautiously, giving a brief touch to the inside pocket of his robe, running his two hands around Harry's waist and bending to check each ankle. "Sorry, guess not" he said and returned to his seat.

"I guess I was too focused on recovering Dumbledore's wand in all the celebrating after the duel to worry too much about yours", said Harry.

"Gentlemen, if you are quite finished", said McGonagall, with some exasperation "when I mentioned the need to find Mr. Malfoy's wand in order to return it to his possession, I was referring to the one that he had yesterday, not the one that Harry used to duel Voldemort. I don't think there can be any question of returning that particular wand. But if that wand is also misplaced, we definitely need to find it, I promised it to the Minister for display in the Entry Hall at the Ministry. In your searches Mr. Malfoy, were you able to retrieve the wand that you had yesterday? Think! What happened to that wand, yesterday?"

"I was sitting with my parents, comforting my mother and telling my father not to yell at her when somebody, I think Professor Slughorn, walked up behind me and pulled it out of my hand. He made my father give him his wand, too."

"Well then, Mr. Malfoy," said McGonagall with a rather stern expression, "we've had a lot of commotion and disruption of this meeting over a matter in which your course of action seems perfectly clear. Go to Professor Slughorn and ask for your wand. I daresay you were happy enough to go into battle with that wand yesterday, you should be pleased enough with it tomorrow, once you've gotten it back… Well, go get it. I believe you'll find Professor Slughorn down at the greenhouse talking to Professor Sprout. If not, try his office. And, Draco, be sure to turn in the two wands that you found. You can drop them off at Mr. Filch's office on your way to dinner. That's alright, don't take the time to do it now, you have other business to attend to. Return here immediately after speaking to Professor Slughorn. I don't want to give the other Slytherins a chance to challenge you."

A very defeated looking Draco got up and slowly walked down the stairs.

"Now then", said McGonagall, "the Minister has arranged that his very temporary under-deputy will apparate to outside the main gate of Hogwarts and seek admission. Molly, if you'd let her in when she arrives and see that she comes straight to this office … no, no need to leave now, I see no reason that she can't wait at the gate, while you walk down."

"Excuse me, Professor", said Harry, "I thought you were going to ask me to give back Draco's original wand."

"Harry, you must be thinking I've gotten too old and dotty to run an army. I don't know why you'd think I wanted Draco to have the wand that disarmed Dumbledore and killed Voldemort. It might be dangerous and I certainly wouldn't want a Death Eater finding Draco with that wand. Which reminds me: I'm not aware that we've found Voldemort's original wand. I'd like to have that in my possession as soon as possible."

"When Umbridge gets here, she must be watched constantly, and Draco as well. Molly and I will be with Umbridge, but I'm sure she'll try to lose us milling around the Slytherin students and parents. I don't think she recognizes you as much as the others, Luna, so if you and Professor Longbottom could spy from a greater distance and follow her if she slips us? George will be sticking with Draco, but Ron and Hermione should follow at a distance. Harry and Ginny need to check back with Myrtle and also check which wands Filch picked up after the battle. He might have Voldemort's. Your wand should recognize it, Harry. And pick up your brooms, and Ron's as well. I'd like a little quick reconnoitering of what may be lurking outside the walls. Don't fly beyond the magical protections inside the walls, just get high enough to have a good look around."

The fireplace regurgitated another note. "Off you go Molly, the pink pussycat has arrived. The rest of you should go as well, I don't want her to find you here, and I have some straightening up to do. I hope she likes what I've done with the office."


	10. Chapter 10

**Chapter Ten – Chasing a Witch on a Broomstick**

Harry seemed very happy as we walked down the stairs and through corridors toward Filch's office. "Where did you hide Draco's wand? I thought he searched you pretty well."

"I gave it to the little girl earlier this afternoon and asked her to hide it under her pillow. You'll have to retrieve it tonight. Her name is Margaret, by the way."

"I thought you seemed inordinately pleased with yourself."

"Yes, I'm relieved that Draco isn't going to have that wand, but as silly as it seems, what I'm really happy about is that we're going to be flying together. There may not be any more Quidditch for me, but at least I can fly."

"You and Hermione said McGonagall was acting strangely, because she's under pressure and she finds dealing with our gang a little awkward. I really think she has been enjoying this entirely too much. I don't remember this level of humor from her in the past. By the way, I didn't want to tell her, but I think I've figured out your problem. Not solved it, but if I'm right, it should be easier to fix."

Harry didn't get to respond before we reached Filch. I certainly didn't want to stroll into his office holding hands.

"Hello, Potter", said Filch, "What can I do to serve our newest school hero?"

"Professor McGonagall said you had collected a lot of wands from the Great Hall and grounds yesterday, and asked me to get a list from you. She wants me to check the collection with my wand and see if Voldemort's wand is there."

"Right Potter, if you're sure McGonagall sent you. I wouldn't want to find you and the girl are prowling around on your own. I've got the wands over here in a box. Don't know whose a lot of them are, I just marked the ones Hagrid or I pulled from someone's dead hand. Here's the list, I just marked what type of wand for the others."

Harry slowly made several passes over the box with his wand. The look on his face said that he hadn't gotten a response. "It doesn't seem to be here. I'll just take the list back for Professor McGonagall".

"Aren't you going to take that box with you", asked Filch.

"Nope, she didn't ask for the wands, and I wouldn't want you to think I was trying to steal them."

"Here's the list. Anything else, Potter."

"Yes, as a matter of fact, the Professor wants me to pick up our brooms. Mine and Ron's. I guess Hermione's too. Yours probably isn't here, is it Ginny." I gave a short head shake 'no', never being eager to talk with Filch.

"I have them locked up over here. Are you sure you're allowed to have them? I thought you were finished with Quidditch. Banned for life, is what I heard. Well, here they are. They were taking up more room than I can spare."

"Thank you, Mr. Filch," I enthused "you've been a big help." He returned a look that suggested I had taken him by surprise and that he didn't quite know how to reply.

We carried the brooms back to Gryffindor tower to pick up my broom. We left Ron's broom in the common room and headed to the Quidditch field.

We just stood, looking at the field and the sky and deeply breathing in the air, for several minutes. Harry asked, "You said earlier that you might know why I can't make my wand work like it should? Please explain."

"It's just a theory. When I hugged Mom, I realized what a great protector you have been for all of us, and then I started replaying your description of the battle. Other than killing Voldemort, I don't think you launched any serious attack curses, certainly not a killing curse. You used protective spells. That saved a lot of us from being hurt. So, we know those spells were top notch after Voldemort killed you. I think you may just have a mental block against an attack curse. Since Voldemort, 'expelliarmus' probably seems like something of a killing curse. That is the only wand test that you did badly on, at least the only one that can't be put down to nerves. You were able to protect McGonagall from Eva Duerr, so we know you still do a mean 'expelliarmus' against someone you don't see as possibly a friend. We can run an experiment, but if you could just rethink the battle and try to remember if you used any attack curses and if they worked.

"Another thing… I think McGonagall set you up to think you had failed the tests. She talked to you yesterday about your current fighting abilities being diminished. That put doubt in your mind. Then, the first test she chose was Parseltongue. It is logical that you would fail that one. That is the one talent that you clearly borrowed from Voldemort. Failing that made you more nervous. Your 'wingardium leviosa' really was fine – just a little shaky on the fine control, but that was a shaky hand, not shaky magic. I think McGonagall may even have cheated and shifted her weight to make you appear shakier than you actually were.

"Then, later, she deliberately disarmed you, before you were ready to start the duel. That wasn't a fair test and it shook you up even more. Then the negative pep talk in Snape's office. Guaranteed to set you back on your heels. And why Snape's office? Because she knew we would be ill at ease there. She had said she was taking us to a classroom to talk and then surprised us with Snape's office. It was all planned to establish her dominance. When you told me about saving her from Eva Duerr, I understood at once that it was just another reason why she had to re-establish her dominance RIGHT NOW. Please don't allow her to manipulate you. You are stronger than she claims you are."

I didn't want to give Harry time to respond or reflect too much upon what I had just said. A happy flight would reinforce my message that all was well with my Harry. I just gave him a grin and a slap on his shoulder. With that, I kicked off and soared to the center of the three goals we were facing. Harry kicked off and chased me, as I flew through and up and over the goal and then dove to fly just a few feet above the ground, crossing the field in the other direction to go through the opposite center goal and then straight up. Harry let out a whoop of pleasure as he chased me through the second goal. I leveled off and flew back to stop at a point about 500 feet above the center of the field, hovering as I waited for Harry to fly up aside me.

I saw damage to the castle which wasn't apparent from the ground. Several towers were severely battered and one seemed to have sustained a breach that would have allowed raiders to enter. At least that was my explanation for the large timbers secured in the middle of the damaged zone. "Look at that," I directed Harry's eye toward the damage.

"I think that's Hufflepuff," Harry informed me. "I hadn't realized that Hogwarts had been so extensively battered from the air. You can see the damage to the Astronomy tower, but that didn't go beyond the door by which the tower is sealed off. There may have been some flying dragons involved in the attack, although I never saw one. Look at all the holes in the main roof. I'm surprised Gryffindor tower is in such good condition. You can see where facing stone and roof tiles were blasted away and that shutter on the girls' side looks scorched, but I don't see a breach."

The sight was too sad to dwell upon. Not wanting to pass my depression on to Harry, I simply urged "where should we start our patrol?"

Harry needed little prompting. He immediately turned his broom. "Let's check out the area outside the main gate and down toward the train and then the gate to Hogsmeade," Harry urged, as he started to float away from me. I leaned on my broom and directed it to a point 60 feet directly over the main gate. We didn't see anyone near the gate. Harry pointed for me to scan to the right of the path, while he took the left. We basically hovered, moving up and down about 50 feet and moving about 30 feet right to left, as we tried to better judge the shadows. I saw nothing on my side, all the way down to the tracks and along the track, about 100 feet to the right. It didn't look as though Harry had seen anything either, although his gaze appeared to be just approaching the tracks.

A curse came screaming up between us. We each swerved to the side, but the curse had already shattered against the magical barrier. I don't know why I had more faith in my spying than Harry's, but I now looked to my left to find the attacker. I thought I saw a little motion behind bushes about fifty feet to the left of the path and fifty feet away from the gate. I aimed a couple of double bat bogie hexes at the bushes as I motioned to Harry to fly back from the gate. No further curses flew our way. I think the attacker realized that the Hogwarts defenses made further attack futile.

"Should we go back to McGonagall and report?" I asked Harry, flying alongside him. He shook his head no and led us along the wall toward the Hogsmeade gate. We spent a few minutes surveying that area and then Harry wanted to fly along the inside of the walls. We traced the whole perimeter of the Hogwarts lands, but saw nothing other than one of Hagrid's repair crews. We did a quick overfly of the forest, but left when a thestral rose in challenge, diverting toward the castle. As we flew toward the front of the castle, Harry suddenly pointed toward Dumbledore's tomb. I turned again to fly in that direction, and saw three women leaning against the tomb. As we flew closer, I could tell it was Mom and McGonagall, with Umbridge between them. They were facing away from us.

Harry motioned to stop and we found ourselves hovering about ten feet over their heads and fifteen feet behind their backs, close enough to know they were talking animatedly, but too far to tell what was being said. I was beginning to worry that McGonagall and Mom would be angry if we didn't leave before one of them spotted us. We were much too far away to hear what they were saying, in any case, although they were pointing at the new memorial garden with a bronze statue of Colin at its center. Harry moved his broom alongside mine and reached to touch my neck.

{[excited] We have to report the attack to Professor McGonagall, so I think we should just hover a little closer and watch them. If any of them turn toward us, we look like we're flying in to land behind them and make our report.}

I wasn't happy with this plan, but didn't think I could explain why to Harry without speaking loudly enough to give away our presence. Harry slowly moved closer until he was about seven feet off the ground and just five feet behind Umbridge. It looked like he planned to drop her where she stood. Harry was leaning forward and trying to eavesdrop, but I couldn't tell if he was able to hear. I decided to back off and watch from about 30 feet away. Harry was right that we really had nothing else to do until McGonagall finished with Umbridge, but I was getting bored.

An argument may be exciting at first hand, but watching a silent pantomime is boring. I started awarding style points, based on body language and gesticulation. McGonagall was clearly in the lead - her mouth indicated strident speech rather than yells, and her gestures were compact. Mom seemed to be getting in some well-chosen words, but her body language said she was in awe of McGonagall. Umbridge was now obviously yelling and her gestures were wild and disjointed, indicating a loss of self-control. She was stepped forward and pointed her finger at McGonagall, trying to get in her face, but not tall enough to do it effectively. She pushed a forefinger into McGonagall's chest and was shoved away with enough force that she stumbled back and almost fell. Her arm came up with a wand in her hand. I saw Harry draw his wand and scream "Protego!" and then I was forcing my broom into a dive as I drew my wand. I closed the distance so quickly, that I had barely fired a double bat bogie into Umbridge, when my broomstick plowed into her back before she could crumple to the ground and I was somersaulting over her head. My back and head hit the ground with a thud that left me breathless and stunned.

"Are you alright, Ginny? Ginny!" {[panic] Please wake up. [relief] Welcome back to the land of the living. [concern] Don't try to move, just lie there for a minute.} I came to my senses, with Harry cradling my head on his lap. I was surprised to see Luna staring down at me, but then remembered that she was supposed to be shadowing Umbridge at a distance. Umbridge had four wands following her from a distance when she had drawn her wand on McGonagall. I think I had been the first to cut her down, but I didn't know why the fight had erupted.

"I'm okay Harry. How long was I out?"

"About a minute, I'd say."

"Is she still alive?"

"Yeah, but she's not in good shape, at all. She's out cold, and she's gone all white."

I couldn't help looking over at Umbridge and saying, in a tone that despite my slightly shocky condition perhaps sounded a little too blood thirsty for a sixth level Witch, "That was for Fred, and for what you did to Harry's hand."

McGonagall gave me a surprised glance as she stepped forward, "Let's move Umbridge behind Dumbledore's tomb before we draw a crowd, then we can figure out what to do. At least the students and parents are in the Great Hall."

Ron and Hermione came running up, with Draco and George not far behind. "Draco and George, go back to the castle and keep the students and parents inside," shouted McGonagall. "Neville, go get Madam Pomphrey".

Harry pulled me to my feet and removed his hands a few inches to test if I could remain standing. {[calming] It looks like you'll be able to stand.} I swayed lightly into one of his hands and grabbed it to steady myself. {[a little worried again] Whoops! Perhaps not.}

{[relief] I think you're alright} and he threw his arms around me. After a brief hug, he released me and turned to face McGonagall. "What the heck happened here? She almost killed you, and she was outnumbered two to one. If I hadn't decided to hover behind your back to guard you, which you didn't notice by the way, even when I was only six feet away, you'd be dead. I'm not sure I'm the one who needs protecting."

McGonagall seemed taken aback, but didn't respond. After a few seconds, she said "Let's do something productive while we wait for Madam Pomphrey to arrive and for Umbridge to either come around or die."

Ron leaned over Umbridge's body, "I say let's see what she's hiding under that pink sweater."

"Ron! Don't be crude", said Mrs. Weasley, but Ron had already reached out and shoved the sweater and blouse up her arm, ripping the button at the sleeve. "There!" he shouted as he backed away. It took a few seconds for me to be able to see between the bodies well enough to make out the faint Death Head mark on Umbridge's arm.

"Search her," said McGonagall, in a voice that seemed to say she was ready to reassert her control on the group.

Luna turned out all her pockets, revealing a Ministry credential, a large brass key, a picture of Pansy Parkinson, an overdue bar bill belonging to Pansy, and a small phial of unknown liquid. Ron took the key from Luna and studied it closely. It looked very old. It had a long shaft with a round handle at the end, about an inch across. There was fancy scroll-work engraved on both sides of the handle. The business end held three wide-spaced prongs of intricate design. The center prong, in particular, was extremely intricate, as it divided into three smaller prongs, which flared at their ends. It was far more detailed a key than the one to the Burrow.

Of course Umbridge lived in London and Londoners must be far more worried about thieves than my parents were, since few passed by the Burrow. I made a mental note to ask Harry to show me the key for Grimmauld Place.

McGonagall added all of the contents from Umbridge's pockets to the pocket into which she already had stowed Umbridge's wand.

None of us was able to think of anything else we should do before Madam Pomphrey and Neville arrived.

After making a visual exam and slowly passing her wand several times over Umbridge's body, Madame Pomphrey gave her verdict: "I think she is likely to live, but we need to get her inside to the infirmary, so I can treat her properly. I won't know for sure if she's going to make it until tomorrow."

"We can't carry her into the building," protested McGonagall, "I don't want the Slytherins or their parents to see her. Can't you bring some materials from the infirmary and treat her here?"

Harry stepped forward and gestured for Ron's attention. "Ron, can you bring Hagrid here quickly? Take my broom and check his hut, then check in the Great Hall. I've got my invisibility cloak and Hagrid can wrap her in that to carry her. Luna, I'm afraid you're going to have to miss dinner and the Memorial Service and guard Umbridge in the infirmary. Recruit Seamus and Ernie to help you. I don't want her vanishing if she's in better shape than Madam Pomphrey thinks and I don't want anyone to kill her before we can question her. Also, please find out where Seamus and Ernie plan to be this summer and work out a way for us to contact them. Neville, er Professor Longbottom, we'll need some Veritaserum potion by tomorrow morning. I realize you have to be at dinner and the Service, but after, we need that potion."

When Ron returned with Hagrid, Harry explained what was needed. We wrapped Umbridge in the invisibility cloak and I lay on top of her, so that when Hagrid picked us both up, it looked like he was carrying just me. At least it did if you didn't look too closely. Harry trailed along beside us with Madam Pomphrey, in case anyone met us and asked questions.

"We'll be back soon and meet you all in McGonagall's office. Somebody should let George and Draco know about the meeting. Weren't you supposed to be following them, Hermione?" asked Harry.

"Professor Longbottom," said McGonagall, "would you kindly go to the Great Hall and tell Miss Parkinson that I want to see her in my office RIGHT NOW. If her parents are there, please ask them to come along, also. The rest of you, we'll meet in my office as Harry says, but the gargoyle won't admit you until the Parkinsons have departed. I'd prefer if they didn't find you loitering on my doorstep."


	11. Chapter 11

**Chapter Eleven - Called on the Carpet**

"You sent for me, headmaster," asked Pansy, with tremulous voice, as she avoided her parents' eyes.

"Yes, Miss Parkinson. As you have probably heard, I have cancelled exams and am sending all the students home tonight. As a seventh year, I had intended to simply graduate you, along with the other seventh years, based upon your work up to this point. I say intended, because something has been brought to my attention, which places your graduation in doubt. I can't put this any other way than to tell you quite bluntly that Hogwarts is not in the habit of graduating students who try to skip town with large unpaid bar tabs."

"What! I've always paid my bar bills on time. Er, that is whenever I happen to have a single butter beer on the very occasional trip into Hogsmeade."

"Do you deny this," asked Professor McGonagall, placing the invoice on her desk in front of Pansy and her parents. "Three galleons buy a lot of butter beers."

Pansy stared at the incriminating paper in disbelief. "Of course I deny it! That's not even where I drink, um, the very, very occasional butter beer. And I always pay promptly. I don't know why you would simply believe the proprietor, without asking me for my side, before calling in my parents. That is very mean of you. Even as a Slytherin, I expected fairer treatment."

"I understand, Miss Parkinson. Normally, I wouldn't place that much credence in the proprietor of that particular establishment, and would most certainly have consulted you prior to contacting your parents, but as you will see, circumstances demand this action. We are within the last hours of term in your final year and I didn't receive this invoice from the proprietor of The Three Broomsticks. It was hand delivered to me by the Deputy Under-Secretary to the Minister of Magic. Since the invoice is past due, and for some reason has become a matter for the Ministry, I felt compelled to involve your parents."

"No! I can't believe this; I assure you this bill is phony. I have to graduate. Here," reaching into her robes for a small purse, "I'll give you the three galleons to settle the invoice. Send the money back to me, when you find out the charge is false."

"How do you so easily pay a three galleon bil,l" asked Mr. Parkinson in a shocked tone. "You're not taking money from Draco, are you?"

"No," said Pansy, starting to sob. "Lucius Malfoy gives me money to watch out for Draco and to try to keep him out of trouble. I have to tell him what Draco is doing. I don't want to do this and I don't want to take his money. He told me that if I ever tried to stop 'our little arrangement', that he would tell Draco that he was paying me to be his girlfriend from the start. But that's not true. I really like Draco, but if he ever found out about this, he would never want to see me again."

"I'm not at all sure that you shouldn't explain this to Draco, Miss Parkinson," said Professor McGonagall, "but I certainly won't tell him without your permission. Perhaps you had better start from the beginning and explain what happened."

"It started the summer before I came to Hogwarts the first time. Some other girls dared me to steal some shoes from a Muggle store. I was stupid, but I was just a little girl. I didn't want the other girls to think I was afraid. They showed me things that they had stolen and said it was really easy. One of the girls had the same shoes that I really wanted and mother wouldn't buy for me. I was too nervous and made a botch of it and got caught by the store manager. He threatened to call the Muggle police. I knew you and Daddy would hate that and hate me for causing so much attention from the Muggles.

"I knew I couldn't let the Muggles take my fingerprints. I was crying in a corner of the store, with the manager holding me by my arm, when Mr. Malfoy noticed us. He drew the store manager away and whispered to him. Then he came back and said he would help me if I agreed to do a favor for him. I had to say yes. He gave the manager some Muggle money and walked me out of the store by the hand to a Muggle car.

"He told me to get in, then he got in and we talked. He told me that he knew I was going to Hogwarts in the fall and that his son was starting Hogwarts at the same time. He said his son, Draco, might have trouble fitting in and he wanted me to be his friend and help him get along with the other kids. He said boys got into trouble and he wouldn't be there to help Draco like he had just helped me, but that I could be there to help Draco. He told me that boys didn't always tell their fathers everything they should. Things that fathers need to know to help their sons. He said he would pay me before the start of each school term, if I would agree to stay close to Draco and help him, and meet with Mr. Malfoy every Winter and Spring break to tell him how Draco was doing, who he hung out with, and what trouble he was in. He gave me a galleon and told me to go home. He let me keep the shoes.

"You have to understand, I hadn't even met Draco at that time. I wasn't cheating on a friend to agree to tell his father what he was doing. And, I didn't think I had any choice. Mr. Malfoy and the store manager could still call the police. I met Draco on the Hogwarts Express. He was a little shy and lonely, even as rich and stuck-up as he was, so it was easy to stay close to him. He became a good friend that first year, and I told Mr. Malfoy that I didn't want to take any more of his money to spy on Draco. He said that I had no choice. If I refused, he'd tell Draco that he'd paid me to be his girlfriend, and Draco would be angry and cause all the other Slytherins to hate me.

"Draco wasn't even my boyfriend. I wasn't even interested in boys back then. Over the years, I liked Draco more and became his girlfriend. I didn't want to lose him, so that made Mr. Malfoy's threats even worse. I had to keep reporting to him or he would turn Draco against me. I know Mr. Malfoy would do it, because he doesn't want me to stay with Draco after we graduate… after today. Our family doesn't have enough money. Draco says his father tells him he is going to have to marry Cissy Montaigne. She is a first year, and stupid, and dumpy, but her father owns the only other Wizarding estate in Britain, and Lucius wants to add it to the family fortune. Draco says he'll never agree to it, but I don't know. That, and to protect his mother, is why Draco wanted to help Voldemort. If he became Voldemort's favorite, then his father couldn't tell him what to do."

"I don't think I would worry overly much about Draco marrying Miss Montaigne," Professor McGonagall replied, "The Montaigne clan has not been associated with the Death Eaters, and seems to have an aversion to them. Besides, the Montaignes have an older son, Bruce, who graduated from Hogwarts years ago. He is a very bright, if erratic, lad, who has already made as big a splash working in Europe and trading on the Paris Bourse, as Lucius has in the City. I'm sure, being the traditionalist that he is, and counting on Bruce's earnings among the Muggle financiers to pay the death duties on the estate, that Lord Montaigne will leave his estate to Bruce. Cissy will presumably have a house and a very nice allowance for life, but the lands will surely go to Bruce."

"Then there is hope for me," replied Pansy, "which makes it all the more important that you keep my secret. I really have told you everything I know."

"Thank you, Miss Parkinson," "I'll keep your secret as long as you ask me to, but I have a suggestion. When you want to tell Draco the truth, and trust me, you will want to in the future, he's more likely to believe you, if he can see you living the events and know you're telling the truth. While these memories are at the top of your brain, I have a means of drawing them out and storing them until you want Draco to see them. I'll lock them up, right here in my desk. With your permission …" she finished, drawing her wand.

"Yes, anything."

"Think clearly of all these events, and clear your mind of anything else", directed Professor McGonagall, as she drew a long silver thread from Pansy and deposited in a vial, which she labeled 'PP' and made a great show of locking in her desk drawer, with a silver key, which she returned to her robe.

"Just one other thing, before you go to your graduation dinner, Miss Parkinson," said Professor McGonagall, as she handed back the three gold galleons. "Were either Deputy Under Secretary Umbridge or Mr. Malfoy ever in the habit of giving you messages to pass on to Draco, or did either of them ever give you secret messages that you could decipher with your wand?"

"No, never! I want to see Draco before I go home."

"And so you shall. I think he is eager to speak with you. Just one last question, can you, and I'll ask this of your parents as well, think of any reason that Under Secretary Umbridge might want to harm you?"

"No. Although she was always very kind to all of us Slytherins, I always thought I was her special favorite," replied Pansy. Her parents simply shook their heads no, in disbelief.

"Then, I'll see you at the banquet."

The Parkinsons had a look of numbness as they got up and moved toward the stairs.


	12. Chapter 12

**Chapter Twelve - A Short Meeting Before We Don't Graduate**

"Hi, Ginny," called Hermione from a corner of the Entrance Hall, as Harry and I returned from the infirmary. The others were chatting away – a sure sign that McGonagall was still talking to the Parkinsons.

I gave the status report from the infirmary: "Madam Pomphrey thinks Umbridge will recover in a few days, but the broomstick broke three ribs and pushed them into her lung, and even damaged her spine. If that much damage had been caused by magic, she wouldn't have been able to save her. Umbridge has a lot of healing to do, and I asked Madam Pomphrey to save the painful parts until after she comes around. I hope we can see McGonagall soon - we've got less than an hour until we have to go to the banquet, and I want to find out how the fight with Umbridge started."

"I want to know why Pansy and her parents are meeting with McGonagall," said Draco, "I know you lot think you are a combination of my bodyguard and jailers, but I need to say good bye to Pansy without you around. Is it too much to ask you to wait here and let me wait for her by the gargoyle? George can come with me and draw her parents away, when they come down."

Harry paused a long moment before saying, "alright, but we'll be watching you. Don't exchange anything except saliva."

Not waiting for Harry to change his mind or any of us to object, Draco strode rapidly to the gargoyle. George had no choice but to follow along. It didn't take long before we saw the Parkinsons coming down the stairway. Almost immediately, we saw Draco and Pansy hugging and snogging, while George engaged her parents in a conversation that slowly drifted farther and farther from the gargoyle, until we heard George say, "and I'd like you to meet some of Pansy's classmates. You've heard of Harry Potter, I'm sure, and here is my sister Ginny, and my brother Ron, and Hermione Granger, and Neville Longbottom – you know he's a professor now - and Luna Lovegood."

We chatted amiably and emptily for a few minutes, until Draco and Pansy broke their clinch. We all wandered over to them. Pansy said goodbye to Draco, and as she turned to walk away with her parents, I heard her father say to her, "I know they're not your friends but they tried to be pleasant and were a bit nicer than I would have expected. The wounds of yesterday have eased remarkably fast, Pansy, if these students we just met are any indication." I couldn't catch Pansy's reply in the hubbub as Harry and the others started to ascend the stairway, nor could I quite believe what I had just heard. Apparently, neither could Mrs. Parkinson, who was expressing disapproval at her husband's favorable reference to 'those people'.

"Alright," said McGonagall, "very little time and a lot to cover. The Minister alerted me that he thought Umbridge was up to something and asked me to find out what she was plotting, when he sent her here. I should never have chosen Professor Weasley to assist me in escorting her, given the extreme shock Molly had yesterday with Fred's death. Umbridge was apparently very insulting to her on the way back from the gate, taunting her about Fred. That started our meeting on a contentious note.

"Umbridge was upset that we kept a close watch on her as she met with the Slytherin parents in the Great Hall and tried to draw students aside for private interviews. Eva Duerr did try to approach her, but I gave her several hours detention with Mr. Filch. Umbridge and Eva never had the chance to say a word to each other. We know that Umbridge never said anything untoward to any of the parents or students and she didn't pass or receive any articles. She was insulting when Molly or I stayed with her and kept saying the Minister would hear about our actions. We knew that was nonsense. She asked to go to the Slytherin common room: we refused. She asked to interview Draco: we refused. She demanded that Pansy Parkinson be brought to speak to her, saying that her parents insisted that she be their representative, since they couldn't be here. She had been asked to hear personally from Pansy that we were treating her well. She did not realize that Pansy's parents were sitting in the Slytherin common room. She really is a very stupid woman. Naturally, we refused to summon Pansy.

"Umbridge started to complain loudly. I told her not to do it in front of the students, and to follow us and we would show her the Memorial Garden for the students who died. She demanded to know why certain Slytherin students of prominent families were to be buried under the statue of a nobody like Colin Creevey. Molly said Colin was twice the man of the Slytherin in question. Umbridge said this was most unsatisfactory and she would call a halt to the service on behalf of the Ministry, unless she was allowed to meet with the Slytherins in their common room, without interference, to get their approval. I again refused. She said she was glad that so many traitors to Wizard traditions, like Fred, were killed. Molly called her a bitch and said to leave her family out of it. I told Umbridge that if there was one more word like that, I would escort her out of Hogwarts. She poked me in the chest repeatedly, telling me the Minister would hear about all of this. I shoved her away from me, and she surprised us by producing her wand from her sleeve. The rest you know.

"I called Pansy to my office, and she denied that the invoice which Umbridge carried was genuine or that she frequented The Three Broomsticks. I believe she was telling the truth. If not, I'm out three gold galleons. She denied that she had previously received any coded writings from Umbridge or anyone else. I'll have Professor Slughorn determine the identity of the liquid in Umbridge's phial after the Memorial Service. Any questions or anything to add?"

"We were shot at while we were surveying the grounds between the main gate and the railway," I said. "It seemed to be just one assailant. Neither Harry nor I could get a good look at the person. We didn't see anything else along the perimeter. We were surprised to see you and Umbridge at Dumbledore's tomb, so we flew over to investigate."

"Your gang let me say goodbye to Pansy after she left your office," reported Draco, "I'm glad for it."

"Draco", asked Hermione, "were you in the habit of receiving coded messages from Umbridge or anyone at the old Ministry?"

"No, I wasn't.

"Well then, did your parents send you coded messages?"

"I don't think I'd tell you, even if they did," Draco replied. "My mother asked me to stay with you until she was safe and I promised to stay at Hogwarts and behave myself, but she never asked me to tell you our family secrets."

"I'll take that as a yes," said Hermione, with finality.

"May I see that liquid," asked Harry. McGonagall shrugged and handed it to him. Harry studied it closely, rolling it around the side of the phial and then opened the phial for a quick look. "This looks like the Draught of Galloping Death that I prepared for Professor Slughorn. I can tell by the lilac color and the thickness of the liquid, and the smell. It's a very deadly poison."

"So it is," said McGonagall, "I wonder whom Umbridge wanted to poison. Could it have been Pansy Parkinson? She was awfully interested in her. But she liked Pansy. I wonder why she was carrying a picture of Pansy. She didn't need it to recognize her. Pansy said she was Umbridge's favorite student. Just another minor mystery. Oh, I see it's time for all of us to prepare for the banquet."

"I don't believe Minister Umbridge would poison Pansy," said Draco. "She has treated all the Slytherins very well."

"I can't imagine she could expect to get close enough to Harry to poison him," I said, "and she certainly never seemed the sort to consider suicide to avoid questioning, so the poison couldn't have been meant for herself. The one person she could be certain of approaching closely enough to poison is Professor McGonagall, and the two certainly hate each other".

"Ahem," replied McGonagall

"I dunno," said Ron, looking at Draco "Your family may be dangerous for anybody to be around. For the Death Eaters, hate your Mom, hate you, therefore kill Pansy. Did they tell you Umbridge has a Dark Mark on her arm?"

"Harry and Miss Weasley… if you would walk with me." McGonagall led us out of her office. We had achieved a little separation from George and Draco, when McGonagall resumed speaking. "I'm not sure I'd have let Draco speak to Pansy, but that's done. In any case, I was thinking that this is your last chance for a while to speak to those members of Dumbledore's Army who have graduated. Some have established connections on the outside that may be helpful. If you can chat with Cho, Wood, the Patil sisters and some others during the banquet and make arrangements for future communications, they can help track the remaining Death Eaters while we're at Hogwarts."

As McGonagall walked away from us, I asked Harry "Do you think McGonagall really can't recognize the Draught of Galloping Death? For some reason, Hogwarts teaches how to make that so that we can all grow up to be little assassins. She said the potions book is the same as it always was."

"She focuses on her transfigurations. Perhaps she has forgotten most of what she learned about potions."

"Perhaps."


	13. Chapter 13

**Chapter Thirteen - Ceremonies and Farewells**

I'm embarrassed to admit, that with all the questions and problems confronting us, my thought as we entered the Great Hall was that Harry had better not go off to chat with Cho and leave me with Wood and the Gryffindors. My spirits lifted as Harry grabbed my hand.

{[unease] Don't be upset, but we do need to talk to Cho. There hasn't been anything between Cho and me for a long time. Let's find her together and invite her to sit with the Gryffindor DA veterans.}

Our little circle for dinner included Cho, Wood, Michael Corner, the Patil sisters, Ron and Hermione, Bill and Fleur, and Percy. Farther down the table George and Lee Jordon were sitting with Draco and Pansy. All the other Slytherins were huddled together at the farthest and quietest of the tables. Apart from the Slytherins, there was a fair amount of mixing of the houses.

It felt strange to look up at the head table of Professors and to see Neville, along with Mom, added to the row, and McGonagall seated in the center. This was also the first time that I had seen dozens of parents sitting at the House tables. Family reunions appeared to be finished and the parents were sitting together and talking amongst themselves, while their children chatted with friends nearby.

Just before McGonagall rose to speak, Margaret walked toward our table, seeking a place to sit. Harry waved her over and she sat on the far side of Cho. With her face no longer puffy from crying and her long auburn hair no longer matted with dirt, she was very pretty, with bright blue eyes and a long oval face. She still looked as small as most girls do when they get off the Hogwarts Express for the first time, short and so thin that one could believe she had been living under the stairs and subsisting on scraps, as Harry had for so many years at the Dursleys. Either she did not have any close friends from her level to sit with or she was determined to spend some more time with Harry.

McGonagall gave a welcome that was brief enough to do Dumbledore proud, encouraging us to eat heartily for the long journey home and wishing all students and parents well in these troubled times. As she sat, we began to work our way through the steaming serving dishes of roast beef, pork, potatoes, carrots, sprouts, and mashed turnips. The variety was less than for a typical end of term banquet, but quite impressive given the disruption in the kitchens caused by the house Elves joining yesterday's battle.

Harry and Cho were clearly happy to see each other again, but deliberately restrained in their speech and gestures. Cho had pointedly sat down with Wood between herself and Harry, and then seriously chatted up Margaret. Was I a bad person to have wet blanketed their reunion? Harry asked Cho what she had been doing since graduation and she replied that she was an apprentice at Gringotts bank. She didn't get involved in the inner workings of the bank, but as a greeter and liaison to the Wizard customers, she at least got to see most of the people who entered the bank and sometimes got a hint of their purpose as she spoke to them. She was also picking up some basic phrases and words in Goblinspeak that gave an occasional clue about what was happening around her. One of her responsibilities was to attempt to unobtrusively use magic to detect customers trying to pass themselves off as somebody else, through the use of Polyjuice potion. The Goblins had given her some guidance, along with a Goblin device that revealed the use of Polyjuice when touched to the skin. She said it was clear that this was an aspect of security that Gringotts was determined to enhance.

Cho was living in a small room above an inactive shop on Diagon Alley and Harry suggested that she might want to move into George's quarters above the magic shop, so that we could communicate more surreptitiously through Lee. Cho agreed that she would relay anything interesting or unusual that she noticed, either within Gringotts or along Diagon Alley. She would be especially alert for known Death Eaters, although she promised Harry that she would not take any risks; simply observe at as great a distance as possible and report through Lee when it was safe to do so.

Wood was working as an apprentice auror at the Ministry. He was unlikely to have access to the high level information that McGonagall received from the Minister, but knew the gossip among the lower level aurors and apprentices and was privy to many minor incidents and investigations that appeared so inconsequential or unresolved that they were never reported up the chain of command. He was living with his parents and felt they were isolated enough that he could communicate with us by owl, if we didn't overdo the message frequency enough to draw attention.

Margaret said she had fully recovered from the emotional distress and exhaustion of the prior day and was eager to help. She expected to spend the summer at her parents' home in the village of Allhallows. She didn't expect to be able to observe many Wizards there, since the only Wizard families in Allhallows were her own and an elderly couple, who grew vegetables in a small garden and kept to themselves. Most of the Wizards in the area lived 15 miles down the lane in Godric's Hollow. It would be no problem to contact her by owl and she had her own owl to message us in the unlikely event she had something to tell us. In any event, she seemed really happy to be able to look forward to beginning her third year with a group of seventh year friends.

"I'm sorry," I confessed, "you're being so helpful and I feel that I know you really well from the battle and being in the same House, but you've always just been Margaret to me. I don't even know your surname."

"It's Wright," she said. "My family is originally from Godric's Hollow, but my grandfather acquired a patch of land up the road that was larger than what the family had in the Hollow, so we moved."

As we moved on to our limited dessert selection of treacle tart or treacle tart, McGonagall rose for her formal remarks. "I stand before you with profound sadness. We lost our headmaster yesterday and each of us has seen friends die. We will shortly move out to the grounds for a memorial service to honor the fallen from yesterday's battle. We grieve the loss of all Hogwarts' students, regardless of which side they chose to fight for. In addition to the dead, we look around at wounded bodies, wounded spirits, and a wounded school. We all have a summer to heal, before I hope all of the underclass students will return in the fall, ready to resume your education and willing to greet all your fellow Hogwarts' students as friends. Before we move to the memorial service, I have some announcements that I must make.

"Under the circumstances, the staff saw no alternative to cancelling the remaining classes and exams and ending the term early. All seventh years will graduate. There simply hasn't been time to prepare your graduation certificates. You will receive them by owl. For all students, your Professors will assign course grades based on their best assessment of your performance to date. You will receive your marks by owl, in normal course. The OWL and NEWT exams have also been cancelled. For most of you, they will be offered at the start of the next term. For the graduates, the Ministry will make special arrangements for you to sit for any NEWTs at the Ministry. Anyone else may choose to sit your exams at the Ministry or here at Hogwarts. You will receive an owl from the Ministry giving the details.

"The Hogwarts Express will leave 30 minutes following the memorial service and the boats and carriages will be ready to take you to the tracks. You should all be packed and your luggage will be moved during the service. The staff will provide extra security as you board the train. I don't believe there is any cause for alarm, but since there have been several incidents of violence or attempted violence today, Professors Slughorn and Flitwick will accompany you for the train trip. As many of you know, the Ministry sent Deputy Minister Umbridge to accompany the students on the return trip, but she was, unfortunately, injured in one of these incidents. The Ministry has asked me to not say anything further, while they investigate. Deputy Minister Weasley will accompany you on the train, in place of her. Now please move to your seats on the lawn. The Memorial Service will begin in 15 minutes."

Before going to the Memorial Service, I went up to the girl's dormitory with Margaret to retrieve Draco's wand and hide it in the room I would share for the summer with Hermione and Luna. Both Margaret and I were surprised by how relieved we felt to find the wand still hiding where she had left it. She lifted up the corner of her mattress and pulled out the wand, which she handed to me, saying "With everything that has happened, I half expected someone to sneak in and steal it, especially after Harry told me how important it was to keep it safe. I didn't know if he wanted me to take it home with me or give it to someone before I left. I didn't even feel certain that I could trust all the Gryffindors. That's a terrible thought to have, but I don't really know the older students that well. Is it true then, that you're Harry's girlfriend? I can't imagine how great that must be."

"Yes, it's getting to be very nice," I replied. "Harry is a lot shyer than you might expect. Most of the time he's been at Hogwarts, he's been pretty much an outsider, with all the nasty rumors and lies that have been printed about him, and many of the Hogwarts students, even Gryffindors, believing them. He has spent a lot of time tucked into a protective shell. Even my lame brother, who's supposed to be his best friend, spends a lot of time feuding with Harry and freezing him out. He's been terrible about me being Harry's girlfriend. I'm so much more mature than Ron, but he insists on thinking of me as his baby sister. By the way, I heard you mention at the banquet that you live close to Godric's Hollow. Do you get there much?"

"Yes, my family actually goes to church in Godric's Hollow just about every Sunday that I'm home from school. It's a little far for us, but there are other Wizard families in the church. If we attended church back home, we'd be alone and then you just don't know whether you stand out more by going or not going. At Godric's Hollow we blend in a lot easier. They've had Witches at that church for centuries and just think of us as moderately eccentric cranks."

"It would help a lot if you sent us an owl if you see any Wizards you don't recognize or any unusual magical activity, in general. Wizards seem to be attracted to Godric's Hollow, because that's where Dumbledore was born. It makes it almost a tourist shrine."

"The Peverels and Potters were also from Godric's Hollow," replied Margaret, "although there aren't any Peverells left, unless you count Harry. It is probably the most famous Wizarding community in Britain. If you like, I can send you a list of the local Wizarding community, what they do, and which side I think they are on."

"That would be great," I replied. "We'd better head off for the service, let me just go and quickly stick this wand under my pillow." I quickly ducked into the sixth levels' bedroom and picked up my pillow to tuck the wand into the casing, but that suddenly seemed like such a lame hiding place and Margaret's fears had caused me enough unease that I just tucked the wand inside my robes and hurried back to Margaret. We headed down to the grounds together, chatting about how strange it had seemed to have parents in the Gryffindor common room for the first time, like the first truly private preserve we had enjoyed in our young lives had been defiled.

Harry and Ron had saved a couple of seats for us. I sat between Harry and George and Margaret eagerly grabbed the seat between Harry and Ron. Dad had arrived, both to be present for Fred's memorial and to represent the Minister. He was seated next to Mom in the front row, along with all the Professors and Bill. With Mom surrounded by Bill and Dad, I felt she would be well taken care of.

There were many mothers of Slytherin in the seats, but very few fathers. Of course, a few of the fathers had died in the fighting and many more would have been arrested on the spot. Much of the Memorial Service was a blur for me. I remember it starting on a bad note when Elvira Crabbe decided at the last moment that her son would not, after all, be buried with the other fallen students at Hogwarts. She was supported by Millicent Goyle. They also complained about the burning of Voldemort's body and demanded custody of the ashes, which they were told by McGonagall had been dispersed at multiple secret locations, where they would 'fade into the environment in perfect anonymity'. When they demanded to see Umbridge, McGonagall responded that she was far too ill to be disturbed, and besides this was now a matter for the Ministry and that they were welcome to complain to the Minister if they wished. And then a most surprising thing happened.

Elvira shouted, "I am not going to allow my son to be buried beside the Wizards who killed him."

Draco Malfoy rose and shouted even louder, "Excuse me, but I was there when Crabbe died. He was my friend during my whole stay at Hogwarts and we were fighting side by side when he died. Nobody killed him. He launched a Wizard's Fire curse that he was unable to control, and his own curse killed him. Goyle was overcome by the smoke and was unconscious. I went back to save him, but I had lost my wand and the smoke and fire just about had me too. Potter saved Goyle and me, with help from Weasley and Granger. I fought for Voldemort, but in the end he said he was going to kill me, just to make his wand a little stronger. He terrorized most of the Death Eaters. I don't understand why you still think he was on your side." As Draco sat down, Elvira corrected him.

"Voldemort was a tyrant, but he was a means to an end, a way to stop the rot in the Wizarding World. He was bringing back the traditional ways and restoring the great Wizarding families to their rightful spot. Pureblood Wizards would get the respect they were due and Mudbloods would be forced to live amongst the Muggles. Your family was once one to be proud of, Draco. Just a little bravery from you and your mother and some loyalty from your father and we would have won. Now Wizards are in danger of losing everything to the Muggles, Elves, and Goblins. It's traitors like you and your accursed mother, who threw away our last chance to save ourselves - to dominate the Muggles before they destroy us."

She started to leave, to general shouts of "Shut up and sit down", or "Shut up and get out of here".

"We are still a great family," answered Draco, "and your side would have won had your son not been quite so stupid. Goyle and I had prevented Potter from recovering Ravenclaw's diadem and destroying the horcrux, when Crabbe destroyed it with his Wizards' Fire. So, you don't have to look any farther than your own family to explain the defeat. If you really believe Voldemort would have done the great families' bidding, I know where your son got his smarts. He would have killed us one by one or made us his servants. He didn't care about pure blood. He was a half blood, himself."

Dad had listened to quite enough of this. "On behalf of the Ministry, I assure you Madam, that the Ministry regards all Wizarding families as great. I would remind you that the fighting among Wizards that Voldemort caused has completely wiped out many of what you choose to call the Great Families and has greatly reduced the numbers of all Wizards. There aren't a lot of Wizards left, and we're being killed off by other Wizards, not by Muggles. We are not here to talk politics. I didn't come here to make a speech. I'm here, like most of you, simply to mourn our dead and hope that we can all put our lives and our community back together. I'll be happy to argue politics another day, but not now. If you don't want your son buried at Hogwarts, by all means take him home with you, but please be quiet and let us get on with this service. I'd invite you to wait for the rest of us onboard the Hogwarts Express, but I don't think it would be safe for you to go down to the railway alone. Someone tried to kill Mr. Malfoy as he left yesterday evening, and he was very fortunate to escape unharmed."

"I'm not worried about being attacked. I'm not a traitor like the Malfoys, replied Elvira Crabbe. "I'm leaving, who is coming with me?" Mrs. Goyle and her son accompanied her, but everyone else remained in their seats. Goyle glared at Draco as he passed. Whether this was because he saw Draco as a traitor to Voldemort, or because he didn't look forward to explaining the circumstances of his rescue to his mother, I don't know.

"We are all saddened," said McGonagall, "whenever a Hogwarts student dies. I grieve for those who fought and died for Voldemort, just as I grieve for those who died opposing him. I also know that we all grieve for the loss of a headmaster and a long-time Professor. Professor Snape did his best to protect students of all Houses, both as a Professor and as a headmaster. I can't imagine the suffering our students would have endured without headmaster Snape protecting them from the Carrows. There have been many battles in the Wizarding Wars that have intruded into Hogwarts, but in the end, we are a school, and are primarily about caring for the students. We mourn the loss of two headmasters in two years, but I am confident that Hogwarts will continue, as strong as ever. Next to the monument that we dedicated to Headmaster Dumbledore last year, today we dedicate this monument to Headmaster Snape."

Harry teared up more over the Snape dedication that I did. Spy for our side or not, opposed to the Carrows or not, I saw many Gryffindors suffer grievously while he was headmaster. I never warmed up to the man in life, and wasn't going to grieve over him in death. As McGonagall moved on to the memorial for the slain students, I completely lost it. I wept and alternately tucked my head onto Harry's and George's shoulders. The rest of the memorial was just a blur to me. Harry sent me lots of mental hugs, sympathy, and pats on the back, whenever I rested my head on his shoulder, but George was also comforting in our shared grief. George sat stoically, or more accurately frozen, through the whole service.

Tired and cried out, we left the memorial and headed back to the entrance of the castle. Ron was wiping away tears and huddling close to Hermione, with her arm around his waist and his across her shoulders. Most of the students and their parents collected their baggage and moved down toward the carriages to go down to the Express. The professors and remaining Order members would go to the train with the students to provide protection in case the Death Eaters attacked.

McGonagall wanted the seven of us to join Luna in the infirmary. Before we moved, Mom and Dad came over to give us hugs and wish us well. Dad was going to ride the Hogwarts Express with the students and their parents. He looked determined, but a little shaken. He and Mom walked away holding hands, a sight I hadn't seen in a long time. Draco said his goodbyes to Pansy. Then we were off to the infirmary to relieve Seamus and Ernie, in time for them to board the train. Bill Weasley, Cho, Wood, Seamus, and Ernie were to be marshals, assisting Dad, his two aurors, and the two professors in guarding the train, during its trip back to London. McGonagall came with us.


	14. Chapter 14

**Chapter Fourteen – A Vigil Over an Ogre**

Madam Pomphrey was hovering over Umbridge when we entered the infirmary, while the students were lounging in chairs against the near wall, wands on their laps and sort of facing the door, if not with rapt attention. "How's she doing?" Harry asked Ernie.

"Just lying there the whole time," was the response. We all hugged Seamus and Ernie goodbye, while McGonagall conferred with Madam Pomphrey.

We lounged in the chairs along the wall and chatted as we waited for McGonagall to join us. "What really happened to her," asked Draco, "and why was she carrying a phony bar tab with Pansy's name on it? Pansy barely drinks at all, and certainly not at The Three Broomsticks."

"She was arguing with Mom and McGonagall and drew her wand to curse McGonagall," I replied. "I cursed her first, but couldn't stop my broom before I ran her down. I was going really fast when I hit her. She has the Death Mark on her arm, so one of the Death Eaters may have sent her after you, or Harry, or McGonagall."

"The poison says she was certainly going to kill someone," Harry agreed, "and that she was going to do it in a way that didn't obviously point to her. She probably was going to do it in a way that nobody died until she was safely out of here. Otherwise she could just use her wand and ambush her victim."

"But," I couldn't help blurting out, "Harry, she did try to kill McGonagall with her wand!"

"I can't explain that," Harry admitted. "It is as if she decided that she wouldn't have a chance to use the poison, and didn't dare to not complete her mission. If we weren't there, she might have escaped and gone into hiding."

"One thing is certain," said McGonagall, who had rejoined us, "she will not have been working alone. Umbridge does her dirty work in service to others, and she has served many others during her career. Since the departure of the students and their parents involves a certain amount of confusion and has stretched our resources to defend the train, I think we should all sleep in the infirmary tonight. Some enemies could have slipped into the school, while the staff was occupied. Did you get a wand, Draco? Good, we wouldn't want you to be defenseless. Which reminds me, I arranged a social engagement for you. I promised Myrtle that you would stop by the prefects' bath and say hello to her, and she promised a report in return. She was worried you had been killed in the fighting, and I'm sure seeing you would brighten her spirits. Since you have a wand, you should be safe enough if George accompanies you. Hurry back, though, I can't guarantee the castle will remain safe all night."

Ron whispered to Harry, "Do you have your Marauder's Map?" Harry nodded yes and motioned us to the far corner of the room. Luna engaged the others while we slipped away. Harry spread the map on a cot as the rest of us knelt on the cot and shielded the map with our bodies. "Draco and George are heading straight for the bath. Nobody in the castle except us and Filch," announced Harry. "We're safe for now. Too safe - I'd rather be guarding the train."

"Not that we can trust Filch," Ron retorted. "He may be where he's supposed to be, but let's not forget how eager a helper he was to Umbridge. He might even try to rescue his favorite headmaster."

"Ron's right, of course," Hermione quickly supported him. "Having Filch in the castle certainly doesn't make us safer, although I don't really think he would defy Headmaster McGonagall."

"He does really like Umbridge," I asserted. "It wouldn't surprise me if he felt he had to see her for himself."

"I understand why McGonagall wants us here", said Hermione. "We have everyone whom Umbridge might have been targeting protected here in one location. Well, except for Draco… and Pansy, although she never made much sense as a target. Plus, she is a potential source of information that whomever sent her may want to silence. When we go to bed, we should sleep in shifts, in case Draco tries something, now that he has a wand. Harry and Ginny can take the first watch. Ron and I will relieve you. Let's pretend to sleep while on watch and see what happens. Whoever has watch should have the Marauder's Map."

After an absence of a couple minutes, we rejoined the group, having taken one last look to confirm that Draco was indeed inside the prefects' bath, with George outside. I noted that Myrtle did not show up on the map. We chatted aimlessly for some time and then Luna asked what she had missed while she was standing vigil over Umbridge. Ron was filling Luna in on what she had missed when Draco returned from his appointment. Draco confirmed that he really had said what Ron had reported. He said he was very surprised to learn that Umbridge was an actual Death Eater. He spoke with such a doubting tone that Hermione grabbed him by the arm, led him to Umbridge's side, and rolled up her sleeve to give Draco a good look. The mark had faded a little, but was definitely still there. Draco rolled up his own sleeve to closely compare the marks. His also was fading. Hermione said they seemed identical.

"Draco, I believe you owe me a report," said McGonagall. "What does Myrtle have to say?"

"She didn't see anything definite," reported Draco, "but she thinks she may have sensed something moving in the pipes. As you may know, Myrtle can be a little hysterical."

"Umm," was the only comment from McGonagall.

"I'd hate to think we had another basilisk," Hermione said. "By the way, can you speak Parseltongue, Draco?"

"No, you know I can't. That's Potter's department."

Two house Elves appeared, bearing trays of cocoa and lemon cakes. The combination brought me up short. The two simply didn't go together - at all. My hunger forced me to partake.

We had grabbed our cups and begun to chew on the cakes, when we heard a knock on the infirmary door. Every wand except McGonagall's pointed at the door. She simply yelled "enter", and seemed unsurprised when Professor Trelawney entered the room. Professor Trelawney walked up and whispered in McGonagall's ear. McGonagall's reserve faltered and she registered surprise, before walking back into the corridor with Trelawney. We just stood and looked at each other. In a few minutes, McGonagall and Trelawney returned, but they were escorting Pansy Parkinson.

"I just couldn't leave Draco while he was in danger," panted Pansy. "I just had to stay and do what I could to help. My parents said it was okay, if I wanted to stay on awhile."

"This has been quite a night for you, Mr. Malfoy," remarked McGonagall, "Myrtle and Pansy in the same evening."

"Nicely played," whispered Hermione. "The Malfoy's problems have given Pansy a clear shot at Draco."

"This is MOST surprising," exclaimed McGonagall. "Have some cakes and cocoa. We were just about to retire for the night." Draco and Pansy had moved over to a corner and were hugging with their lips locked together, and I thought I detected a little hip grinding.

"I didn't know what to say," whispered Professor Trelawney. "It seemed best to let her stay and keep all the dramatis personae under one roof."

The cocoa had a lot of sugar in it. Not only is this not too my taste - I crave bittersweet - but given Umbridge's mission to Hogwarts, my alarms against being fed a potion or poison had my head ringing. As I had done all during my time under the Carrows' Hogwarts regime, I passed my wand back and forth above my cocoa and even the plate of lemon cakes. I whispered the chant my mother had taught me as protection for such occasions. It was an ancient chant from Irish Witches and I had no idea what it meant. I only knew my wand would quiver violently if my food and drink were tainted. My wand was still, but McGonagall was staring at me.

"Just a precaution I picked up with the Carrows. As much sugar as is in this cocoa could hide many a potion."

"If you say so Miss Weasley, although I have no inkling what might cause me to poison you."

I almost said that doing so would make it easier for her to control Harry, but bit my tongue and smiled back at her, mumbling something about "you suggested an abundance of caution."

McGonagall gave me a quiet harrumph! and turned her attention to Professor Trelawney, who had another message to share.

"You'll all be pleased to hear that the students and parents got onto the Express and departed without incident."

McGonagall nodded approval, then commanded "Now, to bed! Professor Trelawney, Madam Pomphrey, and I will take turns on watch, so you can all have a good sleep."

Despite Harry's admonition earlier in the day, we pulled two mattresses together in a corner of the floor and huddled under a blanket and Harry's cloak. I guess McGonagall would just have to think whatever she wanted to think. Harry touched my hand and restored the whisper link.

{[warmth] How are you doing. That was a very emotional Memorial Service.}

"I'm okay, pretty much cried out and tired. I'll see how I feel in the morning. It's very good to have you here."

{[relief?] I think we need to keep a watch on Draco and Pansy. First, I think we need to check the map and make sure nobody has gotten into the castle.}

Harry pulled out the map and unfolded it under the cloak. "Lumos".

{[relief!] Nobody in the building who shouldn't be. I know from past experience that I couldn't see someone who was hiding in the Room of Requirement. }

"I think I picked up your thoughts, even though we weren't touching hands, or any skin at all."

{Shift to your side a little, so that just our feet are touching, through our socks. That's it. Can you still hear me?}

"Yes, I can, Harry."

{[increasing excitement] Move over a little more, so that we're about an inch apart at the closest. Can you still hear me?}

"I still hear you. I'm going to move a little further apart."

{ }

"That was too far. I'm moving a little closer."

{Can you still hear me}{ } {if you can.} { }

"That was faint and I could only get a little of what you were thinking. Hold still, let me measure. We're almost two inches apart at the closest, through clothing."

"Alright Ginny, move a little farther away. I'm going to really focus as hard as I can on something and just keep visualizing it and saying its name and trying to transmit the thought and image to you. Move toward me very slowly and let me know when you sense something. Then stop and measure the distance."

I moved to about eight inches away and then slowly rolled closer to Harry, trying to control my position so that I remained parallel to him and didn't have my hand …

{[exertion]} {[exertion} Hermione. {vague cartoonish picture of Hermione}}

I froze. "I can hear you," I said, pausing to measure, "I think almost four inches. I got a sense that you were trying really hard to concentrate, then a moment later the word Hermione and then a little later a wispy image of her. We might have been as much as six inches apart, when I first picked up the sense of intense concentration." Harry brushed against and then grabbed my hand. He off-balanced me enough, that I rolled half on top of him.

{[understanding][a different sort of excitement] Good, we know a little more about the range. That's fine, stay where you are. You try to transmit a word and image to me by really concentrating. I'm going to try to keep a blank, listening mind [lots of jumbled thoughts][hoping] Try really hard. It doesn't seem to be working.}

"I don't know why I can't send, or you can't receive Harry. We should leave it for now."

{[disappointment] I think I just have a leaky brain. It wasn't just Voldemort who could get inside my head, and I in his. When I practiced occlumency with Snape, he said I was no good at all and even accused me of not trying. At one point, I was able to get into his head for a few seconds and see thoughts that he didn't want me to see.}

"That was with wands, Harry. What we're trying is different. We can try using our wands tomorrow. Just pointing them, without using any spells."

{[more contented] Yes, enough hard work for tonight. We can do more experiments tomorrow.}

"Speaking of experiments, you were going to try to think of all the curses and charms that you used in the fight with the Death Eaters after Voldemort killed you."

{[concentrating, with some reluctance and distaste] I know that I used a lot of protective charms, like 'protego'. They worked really well; I was able to protect people from killing curses fired by Voldemort, himself. They worked as silent charms; I only mouthed them. But I didn't do only protective charms. I also shot quite a few bat-bogie jinxes and they definitely worked on their targets. So, I know I was doing quite well with at least some offensive spells, before I fought Voldemort. I never fired a serious curse at anyone. [exasperation] I think Professor McGonagall just tested the one curse that isn't working well. I don't know why 'expelliarmus' is so weak, but I think the others will work okay. [uncertainty/fear]}

"You're probably right, Harry. Killing someone for the first time, even killing Voldemort with a rebounding curse, had to be traumatic. You're not a killer, Harry. In a duel to the death, you use 'expelliarmus'. So, the shock of that curse doing more than you expected, with the completion of what you saw as your life's mission, had to have at least a temporary effect upon you. It's natural that you couldn't use 'expelliarmus' against McGonagall. You like her, and you had to be at least a little afraid of what that spell would do. I was watching her and she was scared, too."

{[relief/doubt] That's true, but Professor McGonagall thinks it's a bigger problem. She is afraid that I can't defend myself. She's kept me pretty much locked up, under guard, since then. If I'm the Wizard that killed Voldemort [frustration] you'd think she'd want me on the front line guarding the train, not hiding in the infirmary [self-pity?]}

"You trust her too much, Harry. She is a little worried about you, but mainly this is a trick to manipulate you. I have a theory. McGonagall may be thinking along similar lines. We're all born with biological bits from both of our parents, but then our basic nature is also guided by our parents' care. You grew up without parents and you didn't have much direction from the Dursleys. Then you saw Dumbledore as a bit of a father and my Mom as a bit of a mother. They both guided you to be a good, caring person, who protected others. All this time, you had the piece of Voldemort, driving you to be evil and a bigger than normal piece of your mother. She and Voldemort fought to control you, and with a lot of focus you leaned far closer to your mother. You were always a good person. That's why I was attracted to you. Now, with the bit of Voldemort blasted out of your head, a very good guy becomes a super good guy and super protector. That's a good thing, but you are unable to harm anyone, possibly even in self-defense. McGonagall also didn't want you at the train, because you're too important to risk in a little skirmish."

{[confusion] If that's my new self, I'm not sure I can be totally happy with it. I never wanted to hurt anyone. I even had bad feelings about my father for taunting Snape, and I hated Snape at the time. But, I'm not at all sure that I'm comfortable not being able to defend myself [worry]}

"We'll do more experiments and practice over the next week. Anyway, it isn't going to hurt you at all to learn that sometimes you have to depend upon others and that we are perfectly capable of lifting part of the load. The sense that you had to go it alone was never one of the better parts of you. You protected me and saved my life. I'm more than happy to protect you for a while. Speaking of saving my life, do you think there really is something in the pipes?"

{[concern] Nobody ever thoroughly searched the basilisk's lair in the Chamber of Secrets. If I could still speak Parseltongue, I'd reopen the Chamber and have a thorough look around. [alertness] Malfoy's moving. Pansy, too. They're not moving toward Umbridge, they're sneaking toward the door.}

"I see them. Should we follow?"

{[decisiveness] No, we can track them from the map. I would have stopped them if they seemed about to attack Umbridge, but if they want to leave, let's just stay here and watch where they go. I wonder why Professors McGonagall and Trelawney aren't stopping them.}

"They probably think the castle is reasonably safe. They may be curious, also."

Harry unfolded the map again. "Lumos". We watched them move away from the infirmary and stop about 50 feet down the corridor. I watched them for what seemed like at least ten minutes, but they did not move from that spot.

{[calm] I don't see anyone else near them. In fact, there's nobody in the castle who shouldn't be. They're safe enough where they are and I don't think they can cause any harm. They've already had plenty of chances to exchange whatever information they wanted to, even if Pansy's parents brought her a message for Draco… [bored] I'm not going to keep staring at the map. We can check it again in a little while.}

"It's about time to turn the map over to Ron and Hermione, anyway, and let them continue the watch."

Harry pulled the blanket and cloak off his body and crawled over about ten feet to where Ron and Hermione were sleeping. He shook Ron awake, gave him the map, and explained the situation. A few minutes later, he crawled back under the cape. I didn't have a chance to think much else until it was morning and Hermione was shaking me awake. I guess we had been really tired.

As we struggled up, we found that McGonagall had already ordered up breakfast and that Madam Pomphrey had joined us. I noted that Draco and Pansy had rejoined us and were already breakfasting on lemon tea and buttered raisin scones. Harry and I grabbed a cup and plate and joined the others.

"Madam Pomphrey informs me that Umbridge is very much the same as she was last evening," reported McGonagall. Therefore, some of us will have to continue to stand watch over her, while the rest of us complete certain chores. I have to check in with the Ministry to determine the status of the various missing Death Eaters, so I'll stay here. Those of you who didn't pay as much attention to your lessons as you might have, will have a chance to brush up on your potions. Harry, Ron, Draco, Pansy, Luna, and Ginny can go help Professors Slughorn, Longbottom and Sprout prepare potions. Alright, you may go also, if you wish Miss Granger. George can stay here and help Madam Pomphrey. We'll be dining in the Great Hall with the staff. I'll see you there at noon."

"I know you weren't here last night, Draco", challenged Ron. "What sort of mischief were you up to?"

"No mischief at all", replied Draco. "Pansy and I just needed a little alone time to get reacquainted."

"And we got to know each other VERY well", chimed in Pansy in support.

"I'll be watching the two of you," replied a very aggressive Ron. "I see this very chummy act, but two days ago you were both trying to kill us. Slinking off after we all agreed to stay in the infirmary is not a way to build my trust".

"I'm not sure you can be satisfied, Ron", said Draco, "I'm doing this for my mother."

"You're doing this to save your ass," replied Ron. "It pains me to have to protect a sneaky Slytherin and his even sneakier girlfriend. Very convenient that Pansy returned, wouldn't you say? Now we have to protect her."

"I'll protect Pansy and I didn't ask for and don't want your protection or the protection of any other Weasely." George was the likelier second target of this last comment, but for some reason Draco was staring straight at me as he said this.

"I love you too, Draco." I told him.

Draco stomped out of the room and Pansy followed him.

"Such a wonderful lad," my brother said to Draco's back.

"We promised to protect him," Hermione whispered to Ron.

"We didn't promise to like him or accept whatever crap he dishes out," Ron replied quite loudly. Draco was already in the hallway, but probably still heard him.

"What? Am I the only one with any pride left?" Ron questioned the room.

As the rest of us were leaving to join Professor Slughorn in his classroom, McGonagall pulled Harry aside and asked him to check his map, just to make sure there were no baddies in the castle. Harry called to Ron and got the map back. We spread it out on a table and we all scanned it. All was clear. As we left, Harry gave me a quizzical look and McGonagall called after us – "you'd be surprised what I know, Harry."

When we were out of earshot, Ron responded "Somehow, I think she will be surprised to learn what happens to Draco, if he keeps acting like this."


	15. Chapter 15

Chapter Fifteen – The Cauldron Boils Over

As we walked into the classroom, half a dozen cauldrons sat on the tables, but the work had not begun. "Ah, I wasn't expecting you, Miss Granger," said Professor Slughorn, but since the headmaster assures me that you are a dab hand at preparing the Polyjuice potion, I'll ask you to assist Professor Sprout over there at the far cauldron. Professor Longbottom is going to prepare a batch of Veritaserum, with the assistance of Ron, Draco, and Pansy. Harry, Luna and Ginny are going to help me whip up a batch of Felix Felicitas. Let's hop to it, we've about four hours until lunch.

We weren't being graded, yet it seemed like the most stringent of exams, as we were being asked to repeat preparations we had supposedly learned a year ago. As a newly minted Professor, who might be expected to have an especially firm handle on all things Wizardish, a particular strain was felt by Neville. He was perspiring in the quite cool classroom. Actually, everyone but Hermione was daunted by these tricky potions and their off-putting list of ingredients. Still, as a plant man, Neville seemed a poor choice to task with a potion that started off with the tongues and poison glands of six adult adders. He glanced sideways at the snakes, which were squirming and hissing in their cage. I heard him instructing with a less firm voice than I'm sure he intended: "The most important thing is to make sure you kill them right before you start. They were killed for us in class, but the potion is more effective if you wait to kill them until you are just ready to add them. Freshness counts. So, we'll just get the cauldron boiling with some turnip juice and pressed freshwater leeches, before we give the snakes the old Avada Kedavra."

Pansy gave a distasteful glare toward the snakes, while Ron did the same toward Draco. Professor Slughorn must be either daft or totally oblivious to what had transpired at breakfast to think that Neville could manage my brother and the two Slytherins.

A glance at the potions book reminded me that our morning wasn't going to be a picnic, either, as we had to include mandrake root in our potion. "Not too many potions require mandrake," said Professor Slughorn, lifting another cauldron to the table, "so while we're at it, we might as well start preparing the cure for victims of a basilisk stare. I almost forgot that the headmistress asked me this morning to add that to the list of the potions we were to produce. We'll need to be sure to get some nice fresh adder scales from Professor Longbottom for that particular potion."

Harry carefully placed his hand on the table, exactly one inch from my own. {[mild alarm] First Myrtle senses something moving in the pipes, and now the headmaster orders up basilisk antidote. Next thing, she's going to be handing out protective vision goggles. I don't like this. If it wasn't for Fawkes, we'd have died the last time we met a basilisk. Hermione doesn't have pleasant memories, either.}

Harry started the Felix Felicitas, with the addition of a seemingly inappropriate pint of awful-smelling hippogriff urine. I began the healing potion with a half pint of what the stoppered bottled assured me was 'morning dew, collected from the blades of a freshly mown lawn'. Following the instructions and under the watchful eye of Professor Slughorn, I stirred the dew ten times counterclockwise with a silver knife before adding it to the cauldron and heating. My cauldron certainly smelled much better than Harry's. Harry reached for the silver knife and proceeded to press a dozen sopophorous beans, before draining their liquid into his cauldron. I crushed seven autumn crocus bulbs and waited for the water to just begin boiling before adding them.

"Shit! You did that on purpose! That thing could have killed me." I turned to see my brother holding a dead adder by the throat and shoving it within an inch of Draco's nose.

"It was your own fault for standing too close to the cage. It was as close to me as it was to you. You were never in any real danger."

"So you say. You can't know that. You were supposed to kill it, while it was still caged, not open the door and let it wander about".

"Yes, that is how you should have done it, Draco," Neville confirmed my brother's indictment. "If you can't work safely, I'm going to report you to the headmaster."

"What's the matter, can't you deal with me yourself. I knew you weren't a real professor. Ron was never in any danger. I just wanted to see how brave he would be, when I confronted him with a little surprise. I was watching the snake the whole time. I wouldn't have let it bite him."

"Petrificus totalis! Suspencio! Sectum…!"

"That's quite enough, Ron," Neville dragged down my brother's wand arm. "I think Draco has gotten the message."

"He was about to get the message a lot more clearly."

This left us with only my scowling brother and a hysterical Pansy to deal with. Neville might have been nervous and overwrought, but it seemed to me that he deliberately knocked Draco's head rather hard against the floor, as he lowered and then unpetrified him. As Pansy ran to comfort her poor Draco, Neville shot a nasty look at the two of them, finally telling them to either get back to work or report to the headmaster. They grudgingly got back to work. Amazingly, they did not appear to have caused irreversible harm to their potion.

Harry and Ron exchanged conspiratorial grins, as Harry set off for his adder scales, we heard Professor Longbottom shout, "Steady Draco, you have to be very careful to avoid the fangs. They wouldn't do you or the potion any good."

Draco looked like he didn't appreciate the criticism, but Neville was exactly right, Draco was having difficulty keeping his hands steady enough to safely complete the task. Unfortunately, Draco was unable to continue and poor Harry had to deal with the adders, including scaling them himself. Draco gave Harry a look of apology as Harry retrieved a handful of still wet scales. He was stopped on the way back by Professor Slughorn.

"Let me see, Harry, it's no good if you've got any blood or under skin mixed in. That looks good. Let's just get rid of this little bit here and wash the rest with Ginny's morning dew, before you add them. Luna stirred Harry's cauldron, while he was busy washing the scales, stepping to the side as he added them. Luna then added exactly six fat daylily buds to Harry's cauldron, assuring the Professor that they did indeed appear to be a single day from opening. My cauldron was next to receive two crushed foxglove stalks, with flower buds. They were ready at hand in two pots at my feet.

"Macerate the stalks thoroughly, Ginny", said the Professor, "we want as much juice as you can get. Wash your hands after, the juice can be quite poisonous in its raw form. Harry, we're very lucky to have such nice daylily buds this early in the season. This is a special early hybrid called hemerocallis Earlybird Sunshine that Professor Sprout imported from a Witch friend in the New World. It yields a superior potion and my experiments have confirmed that it also produces a very superior mu shu pork. Luna and Harry, put on those earmuffs and come with me. Bring a copper pan and two silver knives with you, please." He led them outside, carrying two potted mandrakes. I was left to deal with the foxgloves.

Draco and Pansy were working again. I heard Draco tell Ron in an overly loud whisper "I was just having a little fun with you. You were actually using a killing curse on me, before Neville stopped you. Can't you take a joke?"

"It looked like the adder was meant to kill me. You don't have Crabbe to protect you. If you attack me, I'm going to hit back in kind, and I'm a lot tougher than you are. Just leave me alone!"

"I really wouldn't have allowed the snake to harm you. You just think the worst of me."

"And you keep proving that you're even worse than I thought you were."

Pansy looked worried, but didn't say a word. She stirred the cauldron and kept the potion from going bad. I saw that her other hand was on her wand handle. My wand was pointed at her. She'd hit the floor, before her wand cleared her robes. She looked from my fixed smile to my wand and slipped her wand fully back into her inner pocket, waving an empty hand toward me. Her eyes immediately returned to my brother.

A half hour later, Harry and Luna returned, looking a little the worse for wear, but carrying a copper pan that was half full of chunks of mandrake root. Luna picked up a white marble pestle and began vigorously mashing the chunks. Harry stirred his pot and one by one added six Malabar pepper corns, changing the direction of stir after the addition of each corn. I had nothing to do but monitor the heat and wait for my share of the mashed mandrake root.

"Luna," asked Harry, "I didn't ask you last night, but were you able to find out what Seamus and Ernie are going to be doing this summer?"

"Seamus is going to apprentice to Olivander the wandmaker. Apparently Seamus has a natural talent for wand-making. Ollivander's reopening his shop in Diagon Alley. Ernie is going to his parent's home in Scotland. They have a small farm outside Ullapool, where his dad also raises small magical creatures. They'll both communicate with us by owl, if anything important comes up."

Luna and I were carefully stirring our brews, when Professor Slughorn reappeared. "A half pint of thestral blood for Ginny and one nice, fresh, steaming unicorn turd for Luna, don't let it splash when you dump it in, dear." We now mainly had to let our concoctions boil and brew, with an occasional stir. Professor Slughorn remarked that the color of both was looking good, for the halfway stage. I had just to add a bezoar stone to my brew, while Harry and Luna needed to clarify theirs by the addition of egg white, from the eggs of Aragon's progeny. Happily, Professor Slughorn had already procured the eggs.

They needed to be pierced, carefully, with a fine strand of gold wire. As the final additions were still an hour away, we all set to work piercing the spider eggs and sorting out their whites. This was tedious work, to say the least, but my hands were only partially cramped as we finished. I added my bezoar, as Harry whisked his egg whites with a tiny copper brush. Then Harry added the whites and we both stirred slowly as his potion clarified, while mine turned a bright crimson. All that was left was to allow the cauldrons to cool, so that we could carefully decant liquid only into the product vials. Judging by the color, the potions were perfectly safe and would produce the desired effects, but any contamination with sediment, and they could be deadly.

We had finished ahead of the other groups, and had time to chat as we unhurriedly cleaned up our table and tools. We had plenty of potion to fill a dozen vials of Felix and twenty vials of the basilisk antidote, without running any risk of dumping sediment. We emptied and cleaned our cauldrons and waited for the others to finish. Of course, the Felix and Hermione's polyjuice potion must age before they were of any value.

"NEWT quality work by all," chuckled Professor Slughorn, "I do believe I've taught you well. Now, on to dinner."

This comment caused me to inspect the vials standing in front of my brother. I couldn't believe that a satisfactory potion had been produced amidst all that rancor. I gave the credit to Neville.


	16. Chapter 16

**Chapter Sixteen – Tracking Loose Wands and Wizards**

As we sat down to lunch, we were greeted by a veritable flock of owls. Hermione and I had copies of the Daily Prophet delivered to our places, while Draco and Harry had letters. Harry almost never got mail, especially not a letter, and Draco had also seldom received mail. Harry anxiously slit the envelope and removed a very formal looking note on Ministry letterhead. He read the note, nodded, touched my hand {[curiousity] Here, read this and tell me what you think, then pass it to Ron.}

Dear Harry,

On behalf of the entire Wizarding Community, I want to thank you for what has been your often thankless pursuit and destruction of Voldemort. I realize that the Ministry has not always treated you well in the past, but assure you that you will always have the whole-hearted support of the Deputy Minister and myself. While you have been reluctant to associate yourself too closely to prior Ministers, I am hoping you will understand that Dumbledore would want you to play a more prominent role in Ministry affairs at this time.

Accordingly, I request the pleasure of your company at dinner tomorrow evening, where I trust we can discuss our shared futures. Please extend this invitation to Professor Neville Longbottom, Hermione Granger, Ron Weasley, Ginny Weasley, and Luna Lovegood.

Looking forward to the pleasure of your company,

Kingsley Shacklebolt, Minister of Magic.

"I think we should attend and listen to whatever he has to say," I replied to Harry, passing the letter to my brother. "We're not committing to anything by simply having dinner with the man. By addressing the invitation only to you, he is acknowledging, with a little impoliteness to the rest of us, that you are the leader of our little group."

As the others read the letter, each gave a little shrug, okay. Draco reached out to grab the letter from Luna. She pulled it back, but as Harry gave a nod she handed it to him and he appeared to read it through twice. "I didn't expect to be invited to dinner with this particular Minister. I'll hold the fort here, while you're gone."

"Can we see your letter," Ron aggressively asked.

"In this new spirit of open cooperation, I'll let Potter read it," responded Draco, "It's from my mother, and it's fairly personal, so I'd prefer the rest of you not see it, but I want Potter to know that I have nothing to hide." With that, he handed the note to Harry.

I immediately reached out my hand under the table to Harry's thigh, caring less what others might think of my action than I cared what the note said. I knew Harry would be too noble to tell me what was in the note.

My dearest Draco,

I miss you son and hope that you are safe. I know that you are being brave and strong in this time of great peril for our family. Please be assured that Professor McGonagall has kept her word and that I am in a very safe place. I am comfortable, if lonely and missing you and your father.

You should know that your father does not entirely approve of my arrangement with your headmaster or the action I took with regard to Harry Potter. I felt it was the only thing I could do to save your life. Your father thought, I guess it's fair to say he still thinks, that he could get back into the good graces of the Death Eaters. I know that was and is impossible. Your father always believed Voldamort and even the most vulgar of his followers held the Great Families in higher esteem than was actually true, and that the Malfoy name would ultimately grant us respect and safety from that circle. Growing up with Bellatrix, I know differently. She was far from the only insane and power-crazed Death Eater. So, although your father dismisses my views, and may well have left me for good, I implore you to follow my guidance. I am looking at our situation with far clearer eyes than your father. He thinks I am frightened, but I am not. I would gladly die today, if it meant you and he were safe.

Your father is likely to try to involve you in some desperate scheme to win back his former Death Eater friends. Whatever you do, for all our sakes – including your father's - don't cooperate with him. Don't leave Hogwarts, not even to go into Hogsmeade. Honor our family's bargain with Professor McGonagall. She will look after you. Our future lies with the new Wizarding regime. We can only hope that the remaining Death Eaters are captured quickly. Your father will be safe, at least for a while, in the Muggle world. He is a very smart Wizard and he will restore enough of our fortune to live well. But he must not oppose the new regime. If he contacts you, contact me at once and urge him to be patient and stick to the agreement.

McGonagall knows how to reach me. She knows we turned away from Voldemort in the end (unfortunately for your father, so do the remaining Death Eaters. If you hesitate and think he can regain their confidence, just think of your Aunt Bella). I don't know when I'll be able to contact you again.

Your loving Mother

Harry said "You'll have my support, "as he handed the note back to Draco. "Don't worry, I'll keep it secret."

The letters had caused enough excitement that I had not opened my Daily Prophet. I now opened it and was greeted with the banner headline:

**Wizarding World Rejoices – Harry Potter Slays Voldemort**

Farther down the front page were pictures of Voldemort's and Bellatrix's bodies lying on the lawn, clearly dead. The next pictures showed the bodies being lit on fire and then burning furiously. There followed an exclusive, and highly fictionalized running account of what Rita Skeeter called

**The Great Battle of Hogwarts**

At least Neville was credited with standing up to Voldemort and killing his snake. Mom got credit for killing Bellatrix. I didn't know if that pleased me or made me worried for her. I guess it didn't matter, with Dad as Deputy Minister. Our whole family now wore giant bulls-eyes on our backs.

Harry and Hermione were each reading over one of my shoulders and oohing and ahhing about the news according to Rita.

There was an account of the Memorial Service and some interviews with students on the train, most of them positive towards us. She quoted Pansy saying "I fear for the future of Slytherin. It is a noble House that has produced many great Wizards, but I fear what the new regime will do to it". This view was put in some context by "perky sixth year Erin Device," who complained that "while Slytherin always seemed to be at war with Gryffindor, this term they were at war with all of the other Houses, while the headmaster and much of the faculty abetted them in their little tortures of the rest of us. This has been a very scary year. The battle was simply the worst day of a horrible year!" I read that "a very small Margaret Wright said she was still a little scared, but determined to be strong, and proud to have participated in the battle". Then, I turned another page and jumped as I read the headline:

**Riot on the Hogwarts Express**

Given Rita's propensity to sensationalize or outright invent the news, I didn't know what to make of this. She claimed that Elvira Crabbe had been 'rude' to a group of Gryffindor second years and their parents and that this had led to general hooting, hollering, shoving, and threats to have Mrs. Crabbe 'and her son's carcass' thrown from the train, along with anyone else of like mind. Goyle had shielded Mrs. Crabbe, until Deputy Minister Weasley arrived and 'had to point his wand and threaten the incensed crowd' in order to get them to return to their seats and leave Mrs. Crabbe and her party alone in their compartment. At the station, Mrs. Crabbe, Mrs. Goyle, and the young Goyle 'were hooted all the way from the train to the Muggle side of the platform by enraged parents shouting that they "weren't going to put up with that [unprintable word] from the wives of Death Eaters". The article was accompanied by a photo of a parent standing on the platform, raising his arm with a fist, his face contorted in a scream. Another photo showed a frightened Elvira Crabbe, cowering against the wall of her train compartment, Goyle seated beside her, with his wand raised, and Professor Slughorn trying to shield the woman, with his own ample person.

The next article was headlined

**Minister Calls for Calm, Reconciliation,**

below that

**Death Eaters Purged From Ministry of Magic**

I had seen enough. Without reading any more 'exclusive, accurate details', I passed my paper around the table and turned my attention to the food.

Whether there were simply fewer mouths to feed, or the kitchens were returned to normal, the Elves had produced a sumptuous meal that surpassed the end-of-term banquet. We had a choice of roast turkey or roast boar, oven-baked potatoes, mushrooms and sweet onions poached in sherry, tiny honey-roasted carrots, roasted Brussels sprouts, and the ubiquitous mashed turnips. We had a wide selection of puddings and poached fruit for dessert, along with tasty ripe pears and blue cheese. I unselfconsciously stuffed myself. It was the best food I had tasted in almost a year.

Snape and the Carrows hadn't been big on pampering the students with fine food, so even the start-of-term banquet had been nothing special. Mom sat across from Ron visibly trying to convince us that she was alright and reasonably happy. She almost beamed at Harry and Hermione, as well as George, Ron and me.

"It means so much to me to have the three of you here," she said, "with your father at the Ministry, it would have been a lot better being at Hogwarts as a Professor than being back home, but it still would have been rough. It is good to have so much of my family around me." I was feeling surprisingly contented as we made our way back to McGonagall's office for our afternoon meeting.

The meeting was larger than I expected, with all of the Professors in attendance. As per typical, McGonagall got right to the point.

"The Ministry has been trying to determine the current status of all of the known Death Eaters in Britain, always recognizing that we never learned the identities of many of them. Here is the accounting, not including their people at the Ministry, who have been jailed. Jump in to correct me, if the list is inaccurate." I could tell that Mom recognized most of the names, but I did not.

The dead included, of course Voldemort and Bellatrix, but also Rookwood, Fenrir Greyback, and of course Goyle. Those in prison included Yaxley, MacNair, and now Umbridge. I was saddened that some of those stunned in the Battle of Hogwarts had revived and escaped. These included Dolohov, Rowle, and even Thicknesse. The Carrows had made a clean getaway, as had Barty Crouch. For some unfathomable reason, my elders had allowed my old nemesis Lucius Malfoy to simply apparate away and resume his life. The stuck-up old bastard had tried to destroy me, when I was all of eleven. Even his wife thought he would try to become a Death Eater again.

McGonagal listed a couple of dozen other Death Eaters, whose names were not familiar. A third of these were dead and an equal number had been captured. In addition, two of the six giants who attacked Hogwarts were dead and the other four had returned home. Four giant spiders were dead and the others had returned to their home in the forest. The Dementors were back at Azkaban, although we didn't dare send the prisoners there. Their loyalty was in doubt.

"Next, on to wandering wands. We don't have Voldemort's original wand. He traded it to Lucius Malfoy. We don't know where it is now. I want it. I also still want Draco's original wand. Both of these wands have historical significance and the Ministry wants to display them. It is highly possible that one of the escaped Death Eaters has these wands.

"Now, afternoon assignments. Professors will sweep the school grounds to make certain that we remain free of baddies and that the magical defenses are intact. Also, search for the missing wands.

"I have a few surprises for the students. A Ministry official has arrived to assist those of you who have not yet passed your apparating test, and to provide more advanced training for all of you. And I have found a Parseltongue instructor to work with Harry and Draco. I've also arranged for a Ministry official to proctor NEWT exams. Those who have completed courses in which they wish to take an exam this summer, remain here after the meeting. If you are planning to take additional courses in the subject next term, then you should wait on the exam.

"Finally, from the Ministry, I have some new personal protection gear for each of you. They're in the boxes in the corner. I believe the Muggles call them welder's helmets. They might well be protective against a basilisk's stare, although I don't believe the Ministry has actually tested them. You'll find smoked mirrors, as well. Remember, I'm not saying we have a basilisk, simply that I believe in an abundance of caution.

"Draco, I believe you received a letter at dinner. Is there anything we need to discuss?"

"No, headmaster."

"Very well. Harry – I believe you also received a letter."

"Yes, I'm to dine with the Minister tomorrow night. So are …", and with that a number of us raised our hands.

"That's fine. Professor Weasley will accompany you. I'll see you all in the Great Hall for supper. You'll be sleeping in your own rooms tonight. You may want to take some time to wash up this afternoon. Hermione's cleansing charm seems to be losing some of its powers.

"Draco… a word before you depart."

I had to linger behind to sign up for the NEWT exam in Divination, which allowed me to be close enough to catch McGonagall saying to Draco "… I didn't promise your mother to look after Pansy. If you're going to misbehave and show off for her, she can be gone tomorrow. My pledge assumed good behavior…" She seemed to notice that I was within earshot and paused until I had moved farther away.

Mom drew me aside as I continued walking away from McGonagall. I thought I was going to be chided for eavesdropping, but that wasn't the case. "I'd like you to watch out for Ron. He is so angry about Fred's death that he is likely to do something stupid and drive Draco back to the Death Eaters. Headmaster McGonagall and to a lesser degree your father have convinced me that we need to turn the Malfoys to our side if we are to win the long war. Dividing all of the old families against the rest of us won't work. Don't interrupt me… yes I know about the snake, but I think your brother over-reacted.

"Also, be tolerant of Ron on romantic matters. He's very shy and very proud. He and Hermione need encouragement. If they hit a rough patch, Ron will lash out at you and Harry. You're the more secure person and you need to ignore it. The headmistress was worried that I would be upset with whatever you and Harry are up to under his cloak. I'm not upset. I trust both you and Harry. The headmistress still thinks of you as a student and child and she is naturally very protective. I've assured her that you are more mature than your brother. Be patient with your headmistress. I know you could talk to her when she was your Head of House and that you got along well then. You and Neville did a lot of fighting against the Carrows this term and that forced you to grow up a lot. I've asked Minerva to lighten up.

"I realized watching all this that I was too protective of Harry and that my protection was not always a benefit to him. He deserved to be told more so that he could make his own decisions. And I would say that, even if I hadn't just learned of Dumbledore's plotting. Be happy with Harry."

"Thanks Mom. You really shouldn't believe everything that McGonagall tells you. She is very manipulative and she is overly protective of Draco. Draco is no angel. He was beastly to Ron. Draco fully deserved what Ron was dishing out. It's easier to repair a Sectumsempra than an adder bite. I don't think Draco wanted to do more than very seriously scare Ron with the snake, but it was a very dangerous prank that could have gone seriously wrong. Ron was very close to the snake when he noticed it. Another couple seconds and the snake would have bit him.

"Ron may be right that Draco wanted to kill him. All the Malfoys hate us Weasleys. You remember what Lucius did to me, when I was just a little first level. We shouldn't have to be watching over our shoulders to protect ourselves against Draco, while we're supposed to be protecting him. It's not fair at all and Pansy brings out the worst in Draco. New professor or not, both as our Mom and as a professor responsible for our safety, you have to tell McGonagall that Draco nearly killed Ron, that we are all very unhappy, and that we may simply choose not to protect Draco or Pansy. If he does something like that snake again, I'll drop him myself and feel fully justified."

"No, you shouldn't do that. I'll speak to your headmaster. It still is important to keep Draco safe at Hogwarts, although I don't expect you to accept the usual Malfoy crap from him."

Well, that was a pleasant surprise.


	17. Chapter 17

**Chapter Seventeen – Advanced Training**

I caught up with Harry, who actually had stopped and was waiting at the bottom of the stairs. "Just a few words of advice from Mom. She also wants me to watch out for Ron. You should to, he can get overly emotional. Please try to calm him down, instead of winding him up, even if he gets in little digs about you and me".

"No problem," replied Harry, grabbing my hand, "I think I understand Ron quite well by now. A lot of our past spats were him sparring with the secretive Voldemort piece of me."

{[ironic] I'm certainly glad that my needing to learn Parseltongue has absolutely nothing to do with the likelihood that there isn't a basilisk in the piping. Otherwise, I'd think the Professor expected me to lead a raiding party on the Chamber of Secrets, rather than hiding safely in her office.}

"Well, at least you know one of the greater purposes that she is saving you for."

{[excitement] I really am looking forward to earning my license to apparate. Not having taken the test and having to hitch a ride with Hermione or Dumbledore always seemed to rub it in that I was still a child. I know Hermione is more mature than I am, but that just magnified the difference.}

"I've always thought you were very mature, in some ways more mature than Hermione. Not to put it overly bluntly, you grew up in a broom closet in the Muggle world, but Hermione had the full flavor of a pampered childhood in Muggle suburbia."

{[impulse to defend Hermione/stifled]}

"You don't have to defend Hermione, she's my friend too, and I think she's great for Ron. I know she's adapted amazingly fast to the Wizard world, but we do need to remind ourselves that she is a person of two worlds, while you really aren't. She's been like a big sister to me, which was important growing up with all older brothers. But her advice sometimes comes from Muggle experience.

"You and I and Ron and Hermione have had some rough patches, because Hermione still clings to the Muggle rules of dating, that if you like a guy, and he's kind of slow in responding, then you light a fire under him by making him jealous. We Witches are much more direct and don't play those games, although very wee Witches can be insecure and a little scared and in need of advice. Didn't you notice how I always blushed and couldn't talk when I was around you?"

{[understanding/relief/affection/dare I hope love/a little embarrassed] Yes, I noticed you got tongue tied around me. But you were very young and so was I. You said yourself, I grew up in a broom closet, so what did I know about girls, Muggle or Witch? I wasn't ready for a girl friend. [more relaxed] So you're telling me you weren't really as infatuated with Dean as you appeared to be. I was really tearing myself up over that. I could have saved myself a lot of grief. Although, and purely in retrospect, I don't regret the Cho experience. It would have been better if you were my first snog, but … [self censored/Occlumency]}

"It's alright that you liked Cho. I didn't not have fun with Dean, I just would have been happier with you. I could never be as blatant as Hermione and deliberately pick a guy I disliked, because he would be the most upsetting choice from Ron's perspective. Dean was a good guy and I did really like him a little. I just thought of you a lot when I was with him."

{[still practicing Occlumency]}

"Anyway, if a Witch is seriously interested in a guy, we usually just tell him. I should have followed that rule and not listened to Hermione. I think I would have been direct, if you weren't so famous, and my brother's best friend, and I wasn't afraid that you'd just assume it was all hero worship. Anyway, that's just an important example, but if it confused you, you can imagine how confused my brother was."

"I know, and I feel badly about that now. Oh look, we're already out by the lake for outdoor apparating practice." Harry said as he looked up from his feet and saw our instructor.

{[surprise] This is a different guy. The last instructor we had was old and small and very fussy looking. I recognize this guy as one of the younger aurors who was there when we fought at the Ministry of Magic.}

"Welcome class, my name is Bill Baggins and I'm your apparation instructor. The good news is that I can tell you right now that each of you is going to pass this course. I can be so sure of that, because the Minister himself told me that I am to stay here and work with you, until every one of you has passed both the basic apparating test and the advanced training. That is why I will be instructing even those who have their basic certificate, including George, who was just starting Hogwarts in my seventh year, so he and I shared the Gryffindor common room. Anyway, because of the need for advanced instruction, the Ministry chose to send an auror, instead of the normal instructor. I can teach you things that he doesn't know. Now, to start, I want just the students who need the basic certificate to line up here next to me, spacing yourself two full arm lengths apart."

"Excuse me", I said, "I won't be able to get a certificate, because I'm not seventeen, yet."

"The Minister told me that won't be a problem, Miss Weasley. This is a matter of security, for the safety of the Deputy Minister's family. You must be able to disapparate out of danger."

Wow! Second major positive surprise in less than an hour. I was more than happy to accept this first perk of Dad being Deputy Minister. Harry had totally nailed it – being able to apparate was a tangible sign of full adulthood. I was eager to grab it.

The basic instruction went amazingly fast. Bill was a very reassuring instructor. Ron passed on his first attempt, with nary an eyelash left behind. Harry and Luna required two attempts, but fortunately Draco didn't pass until his fourth try. Pansy made lame attempts until Draco succeeded and then disapparated handily on her very next try. I am proud to say that I succeeded on my first try. Unlike Pansy, I felt no need to hold back until my boyfriend passed the test. Harry is already a super hero. He doesn't need to be ahead of me in everything.

The more advanced instruction was a different story.

"Now, we are going to work on disapparating and apparating over a longer distance, which is why I brought us outdoors for this lesson. I should point out, that while you probably found your initial short distance exercise a little disorienting and perhaps even quease-making, these effects are greater for longer hops. Even experienced aurors have been known to lose their lunch following a long apparation. Now, there are a few key rules to remember.

"First, you have to know and visualize where you are going. It is possible to do a totally blind, almost random, hop to avoid extreme danger, but you don't want to apparate into a solid object. You don't even want to apparate into water. To do so would be disastrous. You also don't want to apparate too far above the ground to fall safely, in case you become too disoriented to break your fall. It is best to apparate just a few inches above the ground, but to give yourself an extra margin if you are unsure. Better a broken ankle than apparating into a rock or building. Admittedly, the result of trying to apparate into an occupied spot is generally simply a failure to disapparate from your launch point. So, once you find yourself able to apparate virtually at will, stop trying overly hard to travel to a particular location. If you find yourself unable to easily disapparate and keep pushing, you may well kill yourself. Likely that spot is dangerous. Most accidents occur because a Wizard is too cocky or too distracted, which generally means too drunk, to heed the warning signs that his targeted landing zone is unsafe. Every year we have to clean up after one or more drunken apparater who kills himself - it is virtually always a him, but Witches have also done it. It's not at all impossible to apparate into the middle of a stone wall, simply noticeably more difficult than apparating into unobstructed air.

"Second, since you can't know what dangers will exist in the area into which you are going to apparate, you must fight the queases and be on guard when you apparate.

"Finally, you are not permitted to apparate into an area where you will be observed by Muggles. Aurors break this rule of necessity, and you will be forgiven if you break it in extremis, but if you joy apparate into the center of Trafalgar Square at midday, your next stop may be Azkhaban.

"Alright now, I want you all to focus on a relatively clear spot on the other side of the lake. Now, I don't know what exact point each of you chose, so you're going to disapparate one at a time as I point to you. Before you go, make sure somebody hasn't already apparated into your spot. And once you apparate, stay exactly where you are and memorize your EXACT location. Now, aim for about a foot off the ground as your apparation spot and try not to appear closer than ten feet from each other. Hermione, go!"

A few minutes later we all found ourselves standing in a cluster on the far side of the lake, when with a soft poof, Bill was again standing in front of us. "Now memorize exactly where you are standing and come with me on a little hike." Bill led us through the grounds, to Hagrid's rebuilt hut, and a little beyond. We couldn't see the lake from where we were standing, because the hut was in the way. That's probably why Bill had chosen this exact spot.

"Okay, now we're going to disapparate in formation. Stand about the same distance from each other as you had by the lake and in the same orientation. This isn't an essential step for experienced apparators, but it is safer. Since you are very familiar with your landing zone, I'm going to ask you to apparate six inches above your prior position beside the lake. You're all going to go at the same time, when I shout NOW. NOW!"

I looked around and saw we had all arrived in one piece. Some were smiling, Ron looked a little ill, and Draco was puking. Our location, however, was excellent.

"Very good," said Bill, "if this were a group of aurors, you would be on the scene in fighting formation. I think that is enough for today. I'm guessing you also observed that multiple disapparations in a very short period of time can be especially disorienting. We're going to work on that tomorrow, starting with very short apparations. I'm told you are to proceed to your dorms and have a rest and cleanup before supper. Harry and Draco – no rest for the weary, you are to meet headmaster McGonagall in the library."

{[happiness] I'm ashamed to admit how glad I am to have that behind me. The day just seems brighter. I'll meet you back in the common room after I see who McGonagall has gotten to try to teach Parseltongue. It seems much more direct to just ask the tutor to open the Chamber of Secrets.}

"Goodbye Harry," I said as we entered the castle. It seemed like forever since we hadn't been together. Pansy walked off by herself, not looking too eager to enter the Slytherin common room alone. I wondered that McGonagall hadn't thought of this, or perhaps she had. Ron was talking to George, so I took the opportunity to walk with Hermione.

"I'm afraid I took your name in vain, just a while ago, telling Harry it was a mistake to follow your dating advice and use Dean to make him jealous," I said.

"Don't worry about it. I believed that at the time, but now I'm sorry I followed my own advice with Ron. It was really stupid. I'm lucky that we all ended up where we are today, but it should have been a far smoother path. I'm sorry if I messed you up a bit, I was thinking like a Muggle who hasn't really associated with other Muggle girls since I was eleven, so it wasn't exactly profound, tested advice that I was giving us. We did the best we could."

"I've always been grateful that you were there for me. It made my time at Hogwarts much easier. It even helped with Ron. By the way, I'm very happy to see how close you and Ron have become, and Mom told me she is too."

"Planning the extended family, is she? I am trying to put some of my more mature Muggle learning to use. Until Professor McGonagall mentioned it, I didn't realize how really few Wizards are left. It is a classic recipe for in-breeding problems, especially for the families that insist on remaining pure blood. Please don't be offended, but for every Ginny and Ron, and even Draco, how many dumb logs like Goyle, and Crabbe, and Pansy are there? Is it just an accident that a Muggle-born like me, or Harry's Mom, can come straight into the totally strange Wizarding world of Hogwarts, with no orientation other than a letter and ten minutes with a Professor visiting the house, and end up top of their class? A biologist would tell you that it's an example of the hybrid vigor that comes from outbreeding."

We had entered the common room and proceeded up the stairs to the room in the girls' dorm that we were sharing. "What the …" exclaimed Hermione, "this place wasn't this much of a mess when we were here yesterday."

"No, it wasn't," I said. "My stuff is strewn all over the place, as if somebody didn't care that I knew it had been searched."

I left our room and led Hermione, and Luna who had caught up to us, into the room shared by the second years. Since the second years were all home, there wasn't even a lot to throw around, but the room did look disrupted, with mattresses askew and even a board from Margaret's headboard pried away from the frame.

"I think it safe to conclude that somebody has been searching for Draco's wand", I said, "Harry gave it to Margaret. She hid it in her room and then gave it to me after the banquet yesterday. I told Harry that I would move it into my room, but at the last minute, I just stuck it into my robes. See, here it is, I've still got it."

We called Ron and George to come have a look at the damage, but the staircase rejected them, dumping them in a pile at its foot, as if to give an emphatic 'no boys allowed!' We left the boys shaking their heads and animatedly discussing theories, while we went back to the dorm to clean things up. Clothes and supplies for Hermione and Luna had been left in the common room, and they carried them up to the room. They quickly stowed their gear and helped me round up mine. Then we went off to the baths for a good, hot soak, still wondering who could have been in our rooms.

"Nobody but a Gryffindor or a Professor could have gotten into the Gryffindor dorms, and only a girl could have gotten up the stairs", said Luna.

"I hate to even mention this," said Hermione, "but one of the house Elves also would have had access. Of course, anyone who overheard the password, or who was told by a Gryffindor, could have gotten in, although the portrait should remember."

"You said that you and Margaret picked up the wand after the banquet," summarized Luna, "but did anyone else have time to slip back up to the dorms before the Memorial Service or before the carriages left for the station?"

"Probably", I replied, "I'm not sure any one student or parent, this could have been done by a Gryffindor parent or even alum, would have been missed in the emotion and excitement of the service or the loading of the carriages. It is not as if we had assigned seats. There was also a lot of commotion with Mrs. Crabbe."

"Commotion that could have been intentional," emphasized Hermione. "We don't know where Mrs. Crabbe or either of the Goyles was during the whole time from when they left the Service until they boarded the train."

"Do you think," deadpanned Luna, "that the stairs could have gotten confused and let a Goyle come up?"

"Well, at least you kept the wand safe for Harry," said Hermione. "Whatever caused it, your last minute change of plan was fortunate."

We lounged a few more minutes and then dried, dressed and headed back to the common room to discuss the situation with the boys.

Ron and George had no better explanations than ours. Ron even had the absurd notion that "McGonagall seemed to really want that wand. Do you suppose she has it now?"

At that point Harry returned and insisted on hearing the whole tale before going off for his bath. He did ask the important question that none of us had considered, "Ron, did anyone mess with our room?"

"Well, it's not like we had been assigned a particular room yet, but none of the boys' rooms appears to have been disturbed. By the way, I've carried our stuff up to our old room. The Elves seem to have brought us a pretty nice selection, certainly nicer robes than I left here with."

I proudly returned the treasured wand to Harry.

"Thanks, Ginny. That was very smart of you to keep the wand on your person and thwart the thief. Only one problem – this isn't Draco's wand."

"What! I'm sure nobody could have stolen that wand off my person. This is definitely the wand that Margaret and I retrieved from her room. No possibility of a mix-up. I saw her pull it from under her mattress, then she handed it to me and I took it straight to my room and, as I was about to stick it in my pillowcase, that seemed so obvious that I impulsively stowed it in my robes. I didn't switch it for my own wand. See, here is mine. I admit, I don't really recognize Draco's wand. I just assumed the wand that Margaret gave me was Draco's. When is the last time you were absolutely sure that you had Draco's wand?"

"I had it when we were practicing with McGonagall and testing the individual wands. Then I thought that I always had it on me, until I handed it to Margaret in the common room. We were asleep together that first night, and I suppose somebody could have switched wands while I was sleeping. I was trying to prevent anyone from seeing me slip the wand to Margaret, so I didn't look at it when I handed it to her. She certainly wouldn't know what Draco's wand looked like. In fact, I never told her whose wand it was. I just asked her to keep it safe for me."

"So, it could have been taken at any time between our first visit to the Gryffindor common room and the end of the banquet", said Hermione. "What I really don't understand, however, is if someone switched wands, why would they come back and ransack Margaret's and Ginny's room, searching for a wand that they knew was perfectly ordinary."

"Maybe we're dealing with two culprits", surmised Luna.

"Or maybe the second wand isn't ordinary at all!" exclaimed Harry, whipping out his wand and passing it over the fake Draco in my hand. "Curiouser and curiouser! This is Voldemort's original wand!"

"What should we do?" asked Ron.

"We'll have to see Professor McGonagall, but someone needs to go and protect Margaret, RIGHT NOW!"

We raced past the Fat Lady, down the stairs, past the gargoyle, and burst into McGonagall's office, to find that we had interrupted a staff meeting. "Excuse us," I blurted, "but we need the headmaster and the room".

McGonagall mumbled "give us a minute please," and shooed her staff to the door, as she glared at me. "This had better be good, Miss Weasley."

"I'm afraid it's very bad, Professor," I replied. "We think somebody believes Margaret left Hogwarts with Voldemort's wand, and she must be in very great danger!"

McGonagall blanched as she held up her hand for silence. She hastily scribbled and signed a note and inserted it into the floo fireplace. "I've asked the Ministry to dispatch aurors to protect Margaret. Now, would somebody please slowly explain what has happened."

Harry gave a very thorough explanation, complete with the less ludicrous speculations that we had come up with. He concluded that "somebody knew I gave a wand to Margaret, assumed that I asked her to take it home for protection, and saw a golden opportunity to spirit Voldemort's wand out of Hogwarts. I assume that Professor McGonagall instructed the Elves to check the luggage for the wand before it was loaded and that she probably had some means, unknown to us, to make sure a student or parent hadn't left with that wand. But, somebody clearly believed that Margaret would not be searched. Whoever had tried to smuggle out Voldemort's wand, must also now possess Draco's wand, which might still be at Hogwarts. It must have been a different person who ransacked the rooms."

I was very impressed by Harry's logic, especially knowing that he had organized most of the pieces in the time it took us to race down from our common room to this office.

McGonagall was also very sharp, however, "I'm afraid that all the disruptions caused by Mrs. Crabbe and her party limited the time available to search the luggage and students. I suggested to the searchers that they should focus their efforts upon the Slytherins. I think I can tie both events together, Harry, but I fear that my interpretation doesn't look good for Margaret's condition.

"If we assume that whoever switched the wands has already intercepted Margaret, then they would already know that Margaret was not carrying Voldemort's wand. That person could then have arranged for the girls' dorm to be searched, assuming that was where the wand is. That says we are dealing with a very determined person, who will next assume that one of you has the wand. There is only one way to deal with that and keep all of you as safe as possible. I will announce at dinner tonight that I have been successful in finding Voldemort's wand. I'll have to think how to say this, in order to cause the greatest possible uproar. Meanwhile, my faculty meeting can wait, you are staying here with me until supper. George, if you would be kind enough to go down and tell the faculty that I'll see them at dinner. So, while we all wait for a report from the Ministry, perhaps Harry can enlighten us on his lesson."

"I didn't even realize that the Ministry employed a scholar of Parseltongue," replied Harry, "but that fellow looked like he has been doing the job for a very long time. Draco and I worked at it hard for over an hour, but I don't think we made a lot of progress. If you were expecting that it would all come rushing back into my head with a little prompting, well it didn't. He's trying to teach us just enough to recognize if a basilisk is talking in the pipes – you'll remember that last time I'm the only one who thought I heard faint voices, and to be able to reopen the Chamber of Secrets. We're going to have more lessons, but I can't say that I'm optimistic or that I'm picking up the language any faster than Draco. I don't even know whom the basilisk was trying to speak to last time. It may have been me, but I never heard anything that compelled me to answer it back. At least I don't recall doing that?"

"That's about as I expected," McGonagall said, but then shocked me with, "and of course the basilisk was talking to Ginny, not being able to know exactly when Tom Riddle would be able to grab some control of her mind. She seldom answered, so the basilisk had to keep trying. It was following her around the school. I had thought you both knew that."

At that point, the floo regurgitated its reply to McGonagall's post. She smiled as she read the response. "Margaret is fine. During the skirmish on the train, her luggage was stolen and she was knocked down. At the time, it seemed to be just the press of the skirmishers, but when she arrived home, she discovered that her wand was missing. She has a few bruises, but is otherwise fine. So… I guess we must assume that someone on the outside has the means to communicate with an agent on the inside - an agent who can get into the girls' dorm at Gryffindor. I'm going to walk you back to Gryffindor. I have a few things to say to the Fat Lady."

She unlocked her desk drawer, pulled out a small stack of heavy paper cards, folded them in half and asked each of us to pocket one of them. Before we left her office, she asked again to see Harry's map, and seemed to delight in saying the magical words herself, to force the parchment to reveal its secrets. We all perused the map carefully, but didn't find anybody where they weren't supposed to be. Draco and Pansy were in the Slytherin common room, Filch was in his office, and the faculty and special instructors were all where they ought to be. There were two names that none of us recognized, just inside the main gate, but McGonagall said they were aurors assigned by the Ministry. I would swear that they hadn't shown on the map when we all looked at it in the morning.


	18. Chapter 18

**Chapter Eighteen – Sleeping In Gryffindor**

When we reached the Fat Lady, McGonagall interrogated her sharply as to whom she had admitted since the Battle of Hogwarts. The Fat Lady clearly didn't like being addressed in that tone, but had little choice but to answer the headmaster directly. "There have been a lot of former students and parents, in addition to the normal resident students. I don't see or recognize everyone who enters. I'm only responsible for verifying the password and challenging the person who offers the password. I can't be expected to remember everyone who enters as part of a group. A lot of them are very rude. Sometimes they fool around and turn me backwards, so I can't see a thing."

"That's fine, nobody is accusing you of anything, and certainly not dereliction of your duty, which I have reason to know you take very seriously," soothed McGonagall in a remarkably syrupy voice, "I am simply seeking your help in determining who may be responsible for some damage done to the girls' dorm, sometime in the last two days. We can start with the question of who turned you backwards."

"I didn't recognize her. It was a loud older woman. She was short, rather stout, short grey and black hair, dark eyes, a piggy nose, too much rouge, and wearing expensive, but ghastly robes trimmed with some kind of light brown fur around the collar and bright green buttons. She told me she had never liked the look of me and just turned me over. This was about an hour before Harry Potter came to visit me. I was upside down for half an hour, before that nice girl, Margaret, fixed me."

"That would most definitely be Mrs. Crabbe," stated McGonagall. "Did anyone enter while you were turned backwards?"

"Three students gave me the correct password and I allowed them to enter. Two of them had a group that entered with them."

"Was there anything unusual after that? Did you see anyone leave the common room that you didn't recognize or did you see anyone enter or leave after Hermione and Margaret entered after the banquet? Apart from these students you see in front of you, that is. Anyone at all, whether or not they had the proper password." asked McGonagall.

"I don't observe the people who leave. Sometimes I sleep until a student demands entrance. Quite a while after Ginny and Margaret left, Ernie and Seamus entered together and left quickly. Then Margaret entered very briefly. And a few minutes after she left, Hildegarde Baron and her mother entered for about five minutes. Then Professor Sprout came in for about a minute and the three of them left at the same time. There was nobody else."

"Hildegarde is a first year, she's short with really short curly brown hair," I whispered to the others.

"Thank you," replied McGonagall. "So I guess we have to include the wives on our list of Death Eaters who are still out and about. I think we at least can say with confidence when the wands were switched and by whom, and how that person knew that Harry had given a wand to Margaret. But… that still doesn't explain who searched your rooms. I think I'm going to ask Professors Longbottom and Weasley to sleep here tonight. I'll see you all at supper, in just about half an hour." She turned to the Fat Lady one last time, "The top word on this card is the new password. Unless I tell you otherwise, don't admit anyone but these students and Professors Longbottom and Weasley, even if they know the password. Let me know by the Dumbledore picture in my office if anyone else tries to enter." With that she was gone. We held up our cards and entered the common room.

"I'm really thankful that Margaret wasn't hurt seriously," said Harry. "I never would have given her Draco's wand if I thought it possibly could have placed her in any danger. I guess Mrs. Crabbe was in the common room with us when I made my speech. She probably had a big laugh. What she did is fairly easy, when you think about it. Nobody is used to having all the parents in the school and nobody recognizes all the other students' parents. Mrs. Crabbe would be just another older Witch, unless you had met her before. With that big a crowd, it probably wouldn't be that difficult for her to find a place to hide and then switch the wands and leave after everyone was gone."

"I really wanted Draco to be behind this," mumbled Ron.

"But, the Gryffindors certainly would have recognized Mrs. Crabbe after the fact. She and Mrs. Goyle put on an unforgettable show at the memorial service," I reminded Harry.

Harry still disagreed. "Unless she called attention to herself while she was in Gryffindor, they wouldn't even remember having seen her. If she took off those garish robes and makeup, she would appear very different."

Harry, still unbathed and slightly ripe, despite my cleansing charm, led us down to supper. The elves had provided potato leek soup and lamb sandwiches. Real lamb, not mutton, and not leftovers, either. With mint sauce, it was quite nice. Dessert was treacle tart left over from the banquet. As we were drinking small glasses of sherry, which apparently is a faculty custom between terms, McGonagall said she had an important announcement.

"I've located Voldemort's wand," she announced, pulling it from her cloak and brandishing it on high for all to see. "When Lucius Malfoy completed the little errand he agreed to do for me, he wrote announcing its completion and stating that he heard I was looking for Voldemort's wand. He told me he remembered where he had lost it, and wanted to let me know as a gesture of good faith. I don't know how to contact him, but when next you speak to him, please give him my thanks, Draco."

"What, err, sure," stammered Draco.

"Unfortunately, I still haven't been able to locate your old wand. Perhaps your mother will send me a message. In any event, I'll be able to turn Voldemort's wand over to the Minister when he visits in three days. I'll see you all here for breakfast tomorrow morning. Then we will have more potions to make and more apparating lessons for our students. Good night, all."

"I don't for one second believe my father told McGonagall where to find the wand," stated Draco, with absolute certainty. "It makes no sense. The only way he could know where the wand was, is if he deliberately hid it himself, and in that case he would never tell McGonagall. She may have forced him to do her a small favor, but he hates her and isn't in the habit of doing gratuitous favors for anyone."

"It does seem a stretch", offered Hermione.

"Well, we'll see you tomorrow," said Pansy, walking away arm in arm with Draco.

"You know," said Hermione, "the whole matter of Voldemort's and Draco's wands is not nearly as clear as McGonagall says, and she is smart enough that she must know it."

"What do you mean?" asked Luna. "We know that Mrs. Crabbe was involved."

"All we really know," answered Hermione, "is that she spun a 180 on the Fat Lady, while wearing a garish robe and sloppy makeup. Doesn't sound like something I'd do if I were planning on slinking into our common room undetected. She could have just entered with a rush of students and parents. She had to mingle with them in the common room anyway. How easy would it be for an unknown adult to slip away from the crowd and hide? It's possible, but not easy. And why would she expect the wand to be found by McGonagall, if hidden on the person of a friendly Slytherin, but not if carried onto the train by Margaret. I didn't notice Harry pass the wand to Margaret, and I was looking at him. How sure a thing would it be for Mrs. Crabbe to spot, even if she was shadowing Harry? And why not search our rooms carefully, so we'd never notice? Somebody wanted us to know the rooms were searched. Since they couldn't know that we were going to spend last night in the infirmary, Mrs. Crabbe wouldn't have done it before she left, for fear the Ministry would stop and search the train. McGonagall's explanation doesn't provide for anyone to have trashed the rooms, and there is no reason I can think of for them to do it, other than to throw suspicion onto or away from someone."

"You're forgetting," I ventured, "that the Crabbes and Goyles behaved on the train in a manner guaranteeing that it would be searched. I'm sure they could have gotten Margaret's wand in a way that wasn't even noticed."

"What you both say makes sense," Harry said. "McGonagall's explanation may be correct, may even be most likely, but certainly not the closed case she describes it as. It most certainly is not the whole story. "

"Don't hate me, Harry", I said, "but the rooms could have been trashed by Margaret. She and Hildegarde were the only persons the Fat Lady said went back to the rooms. I can't imagine any connection Hildegarde could have with this. Other than them, it really leaves just the Elves, or Sprout, or McGonagall herself, since the Fat Lady would not rat her out. Although, it doesn't sound like Professor Sprout was in Gryffindor long enough to cause the damage."

"I agree that's possible," Harry said, "but what reason would Margaret have to do it? It could only make sense if she thought it more important to smuggle out Draco's wand than Voldemort's. Even still, she could have left an ordinary wand in place of Draco's. I'd be less likely to spot the fraud with an ordinary wand. I knew right away, because my own wand reacted to it. That also convinces me that I couldn't possibly have given Voldemort's wand to Margaret. I couldn't have carried that wand for even a minute, without my wand reacting. Margaret knew for certain that she wasn't carrying Voldemort's wand onto that train. Plus, I'm assuming that she saw you pocket the wand and walk out with her, which makes her one of the few people who knew for sure that the wand wasn't in your room. She's an unlikely suspect."

"Well," I confessed, "actually, she didn't see me put the wand in my robes. In fact, I told her I was going to put it under my pillow, then changed my mind at the last minute, while she was in the other room."

As we stood in front of the Fat Lady and showed our cards, I delegated Ron and George to protect Harry in the baths, while the rest of us settled into the comfy chairs of the common room. We were completely relaxed, knowing we were safe, and enjoying our last few minutes alone, before Mom arrived.

"If somebody at supper was involved with the wands, McGonagall has made herself a target and needs protection more than we do," said Luna. "The headmaster's office is fairly secure, but I wonder what protectors she has lined up. We'll have to check the map, when Harry gets back."

"This must be a little tough on you, Luna", apologized Hermione, "Harry and Ginny and Ron and I have paired off fairly severely, and left you on your own, more than is fair. Draco's got Pansy, now …"

"Draco wasn't very good company," responded Luna. "Frankly, I'm used to spending time alone and this has been more togetherness for me than during most of my Hogwarts time. But don't feel sorry for me. There's George, and Neville until the term starts, and the apparating instructor is a total stud. I may need to make a plan to spend some time with him. I've had a fine time, these last two days. Believe me, life is more tranquil for all of us when you and Ron are getting along well.

"On a serious topic, before our proctors arrive, do you think McGonagall is planning to reopen the Chamber of Secrets? And are we really going to keep carrying these stupid welder's helmets around with us?"

"I was going to suggest to McGonagall that she just ask Filch to mount the helmets on the wall, at strategic locations," Hermione commented, "and, yes, I think she really does want to open the Chamber."

At that moment Professors Weasley and Longbottom arrived. "Have you got the rooms put back together?" asked Neville. "I assume somebody searched to make sure nobody is hiding somewhere. Where's Harry? And Ron and George?"

"They stank, so we sent them to the baths," replied Hermione. "Myrtle likes visits from young men, anyway. I'm told she once ambushed Harry in the prefects' bath and totally embarrassed him. I'd love to be there to see how Ron would react."

"Any boy who grows up with a sister learns from an early age how to strategically arrange a towel," offered Mom. And, thanks Mom, as if I would want to stare at Ron's bare whatevers.

"The two of you are here to protect or chaperone us, but who's going to protect Professor McGonagall, now that everyone knows she has Voldemort's wand?" asked Hermione.

"It's not as if the school's magical barriers aren't in place or as if she doesn't trust everyone who was at supper tonight," replied Mrs. Weasley," although I'm really not sure why she would trust Draco or Pansy. Maybe Draco is her Snape. She does have Professors Flitwick and Trelawney and Hagrid with her. I dare say they could hold off several Death Eaters, and that's assuming the Death Eaters could get past the gargoyle."

At that moment the boys returned. "We practically had to beat off Myrtle with a stick," said Ron, "fortunately we had lots of bubbles on the top of the bath. For someone who's as sweet on Draco as Myrtle claims to be, she certainly took a big interest in us. Well, mainly in Harry. She did have some news for us, though. Claims to have felt an 'invisible presence, not quite a ghost' zooming past her in the Myrtle bathroom. Also says she thinks there really is something in the piping and that there are portions of the drains that she plans to stay away from."

"That all sound pretty vague," replied Neville. "Myrtle is very suggestible, and the headmaster's questions probably started her imagination and made her think of the basilisk. You've got to admit, Myrtle likes attention."

"Where's your helmet, Professor," asked Luna, "or can I still call you Neville?"

"I don't mind, Luna," replied Neville, "but please don't do it around the students when term starts. It's going to be hard enough, being just a year older than some of the students and having shared a dorm with them. I have to admit, I'm a little worried about being taken seriously."

"We'll be good in public," replied Luna, "and if you have any problems, I'll remind the little brats that you are an esteemed hero of the Battle of Hogwarts. You know what, gang, term is over and the cold weather is past, but I think we should re-light the fire and just laze around it for a while."

"As long as we can manage it," replied Hermione. "I don't think it's fair to make a lot of extra work for the house Elves. But a fire would be nice."

As George laid and kindled the fire, Hermione asked Harry to get out his map. Harry spread it out on a side table and we each peered at a portion of the map. Nobody spotted any intruders. Luna reported that both Draco and Pansy were in the Slytherin boys' dorm. Ron said McGonagall and Trelawney were in the headmaster's office. "Oh!" Ron exclaimed, "I spot the makings of an ambush. Hagrid and Professor Flitwick seem to be hiding in view of the gargoyle. I wonder whom McGonagall expects to catch."

"Oh!" replied Luna, "I hadn't realized we would be able to sleep in the boys' dorm."

"Because you won't be able to," Mom replied. "In fact, I think I'll have a little discussion with Miss Parkinson, tomorrow."

"You can't do that, Mom," I blurted out. "I mean, it'll let them know about the Marauder's Map."

"After today, the dorm just doesn't seem as safe as it did previously," Luna complained. "Perhaps we should all sleep in the common room and take shifts guarding the door and watching the map. That way, if Professor McGonagall is attacked, we can counter-attack from the rear."

"We have enough people, that we could do it in pairs, and none of us would lose more than a couple hours sleep," suggested Ron.

"Draco and Pansy slipped out last night, and Ron and I fell asleep for awhile, so we can't be absolutely certain that they didn't go farther off than they say," admitted Hermione.

"How long were you asleep," I asked very politely.

"Hour, tops," answered a rather defensive Ron. "Not more than an hour and a half between looks at the map."

I volunteered Harry and me for first watch. Mom and Luna would go next. Then Ron and Hermione, and finally George and Neville, would stand watch.

"George, do you have any Weasley whiz-bang's that we can use to booby trap the dorms, in case somebody apparates into the dorms or comes out of the drains."

"Harry, are you accusing the house Elves?" demanded Hermione.

"Not necessarily, but it is a possibility that has to be considered. It wouldn't have had to be an Elf that apparated in earlier today, however, if somebody did it while we were taking our apparating lesson."

"I'm surprised I hadn't considered that," Hermione seemed really embarrassed. "I guess Hogwarts' magical barriers might have to be completely lowered to allow us to apparate outdoors. That would only be for half an hour. Who could guess the correct time when the school was vulnerable? I'll have to think on that."

"I have just the thing," George replied with excitement. "Anything that makes a little noise will cause a really big noise. I'll have it fixed up in a jiffy. These little beauties are very reasonably priced, by the way."

"Are those things really permitted at Hogwarts?" Mom asked.

"No problem, Mom, McGonagall is fine with me starting a branch store in Hogsmeade, so Lee shipped me some starter inventory. I'll be set up for business by the first Hogsmeade break of the new term. I've got a lot of new things to appeal to the younger students. They don't normally buy that much in Diagon Alley, with their mothers watching them… Well, let me just get these planted upstairs. Here are a few to take up to the girls' dorm, Ginny. Just put them anywhere and then pull this little string on the back. You have about a minute to get out of there, before they're armed, so move fast."

I took three of the things, which actually were labeled 'Weasley Whiz-bang's', and mounted the stairs. I was coaxing as much light from my wand as possible, because all of our talk left me feeling that the dark rooms were more than a little creepy. I quickly pulled the 3 strings, lobbing one into the seventh years' room, one into the second years' room, and one into the loo. I was back in the common room in about a minute, beating George.

George came down with a grin, "I brought a couple of chamber pots, in case anyone feels so inclined, during the night. I wouldn't want anyone going upstairs and setting off the pyrotechnics."

"How do you disarm them in the morning?" asked Mom.

"Lee and I are still working on that. Consider this a test run."

As Mom shot him a horrified look, George quickly elaborated, "it's not bad business and they're not unsafe. A Whiz Bang could go off in your hands, and all it would be is loud. You'd still have all your fingers, when your ears stopped ringing. We're going to test them some more before start of term, but really, I think the kids will enjoy them all the more if a few go off by accident."

Harry and I settled in chairs next to the map table, while the others found as comfortable sleeping spots as possible in chairs, on the sofas, and on the floor. The spots near the fire were popular. A look at the map showed we were starting our watch with everybody where they were expected to be. Our temporary apparating and snake talking instructors had been set up in Ravenclaw House and there were two different aurors down at the main gate. Nobody had approached McGonagall's office and our Slytherins remained in the boys' dorm. I noticed that Harry had placed his hand about six inches from mine on the table top and was slowly sliding it closer to me, with a look of intense concentration on his face. As I turned my head to face him, he stared straight into my eyes, without blinking.

{[concentration] Voldemort. Voldemort. Voldemort…}

"Got it Harry, Voldemort." I looked down and saw his hand was almost four inches from mine. Harry now slid his chair away from the table, pointed his wand at my head, and focused his eyes on mine. He was perhaps a little over two feet away, from the end of his wand to the tip of my nose.

{[straining/finding it comical] Molly's watching us. Molly's…}

"Got it Harry. Is she really watching?"

{Yes, she is. That was just under two feet away, when you started receiving. Let's check the map again.}

The map situation remained quite normal. And then…

"Mr. Slitherspeak is on the move, going through the Ravenclaw common room… and he's out in the corridor," Harry narrated. "Mrs. Weasley, I know you're awake, and you should get over here."

Mom got up and walked over to us. "What is it?"

"Mom, the Parseltongue instructor has left the Ravenclaw common room and is moving through the main part of the school. He doesn't seem to be headed towards McGonagall's office. It looks like he's moving toward Slytherin House."

We watched him move all the way to the Slytherin entrance, but he did not enter.

"Let's see what he's up to," said Harry. "Wake George. The three of us can go investigate, and your Mom can wake the others and watch on us the map. I've got my cloak, just in case we need it."

Harry, George, and I pounded down the corridors, slowing as we approached Slytherin. Harry slipped his cloak over us, which did a reasonable job, if nobody looked at our feet. We approached the last turning and looked down the corridor. It was empty.

"Maybe he has an invisibility cloak, also," suggested Harry. "Let's fire a few curses down the corridor and see what we scare up."

Green fire flowed from our three wands and ricocheted off the wall at the end of the corridor. We tried a few more times, making sure we had swept the whole width, but we heard nobody fall and detected no return fire.

"I guess we're alone," George said, "but let's check it out in person".

I walked down the middle of the corridor, and Harry and George linked outstretched arms with me, so nothing could get past us.

{[excitement] Don't worry, George and I have our wands ready. We can switch from light to a lethal curse in an instant. I don't sense anything. We're almost at the door. I see something on the floor. Walk a little my way. Yes, there's a piece of paper on the floor…}

Harry picked up what turned out to be an envelope, with a sheet of paper inside. "Let's get back to Gryffindor," Harry, well, really, he gave an order. We trotted back to our common room, taking a route to avoid McGonagall's office. I pulled out my card and held my lighted wand in front of it, so that the Fat Lady could see and admit us.

"What happened?" asked Hermione. "We saw that your instructor left and went back to Ravenclaw, before you got very near, but you stayed so long and then ran back so fast."

"We laid down a few curses, just in case anyone was hiding in the corridor," said George, "then Harry found a note on the floor."

Harry carefully removed the note from the envelope and laid both on the table. The envelope surface was bare and it had not been sealed. The note was a single page:

_Ollivander's_

_To Our Most Distinguished Customers,_

_I am pleased to announce that I have fully recovered my health and will be reopening for business a week before the start of the next Hogwarts Fall Term. I have been able to produce a small starting inventory and will have close to my full line prior to the official opening. However, I wanted to assure you that I am most appreciative of your loyal patronage. I am, therefore, announcing that my new assistant, Seamus Finnigan, and I will be available to handle special orders, beginning 1 July. If you have lost a wand in the recent troubles, we can provide a replacement on a week's notice._

_Looking forward to serving you in the future, I am yours truly,_

_Mr. Ollivander, Master Wandmaker_

"Nice of our friend to disturb his sleep to help Mr. Ollivander get his business back on its feet," said George. "We small businessmen appreciate the odd hand up, and this one is very odd, indeed."

"It must be another coded message," said Hermione. "Do we go to McGonagall now, or wait until morning."

"I wouldn't want to disturb Professor McGonagall's trap. I say we continue monitoring the map and get as much rest as we can. I want to see what our Slytherin friends have to say for themselves in the morning. I think it's pretty clear whom Umbridge's message was intended for. On the bright side, I don't think I'm going to be forced to take any more Parseltongue lessons."

Our shift was over, so Harry and I curled up in front of the fireplace and tried to sleep, while the others continued chattering excitedly, but at least softly. Harry touched my hand.

{You can curl a little closer, I think your Mom's fairly well occupied. Don't worry, I don't think much else is going to happen tonight. Let's not bring up the letter right away at breakfast. I want to show it to McGonagall when the Slytherins aren't around, and I'm a little curious to see if they find a way to suggest that we should all be sleeping together, again.}

"What?"

{[I know something you don't know] Let's just say I suspect Draco is aware of the map.}


	19. Chapter 19

**Chapter Nineteen – An Unexpected Howler**

Harry and I must have been very tired. We hadn't stirred until Hermione prodded us awake. I felt a rush of warm feelings flowing from Harry and was further warmed when Harry was bold enough to roll over and give me a very nice, soft, lingering kiss, despite knowing that Hermione was still talking and gazing down at us. Harry finally acknowledged Hermione's presence and she seemed happy for us, rather than annoyed at being ignored. We rose to find the others ready to head down to the Great Hall for breakfast.

"Any other excitement last night?" Harry asked Ron. "No," he replied, "all was quiet. The Slytherins may not have been expecting a message. Neither of them stirred from their love nest, until twenty minutes ago. Pansy went down to breakfast about five minutes ahead of Draco. She obviously doesn't think we know they spent the night in the same dorm room or perhaps she thinks McGonagall is a little slow. Everyone else was quiet, also."

"Are you going to disarm the Whiz Bangs?" I asked. "The Elves may show up to tidy the rooms, while we're at breakfast."

"Already taken care of, little sister, and obviously a great success, or you would have been roused from sleep a little earlier."

"You did the girls' dorm, too?"

"Luna did."

Mom, who was clearly back to being Professor Weasley, led our group down to breakfast.

"Remember", I said to the group collectively, but really to Mom, "Harry doesn't want to mention the note until we can get McGonagall alone. We also want to see how the Slytherins react."

"I really wish you would say PROFESSOR McGonagall, dear," said Mom, "and try not to call me Mom around her. I'm new and there are protocols."

"Okay, Professor Weasley, I don't want to spoil your first week on the job. I really am very proud of you. First Bellatrix and now a Defense Against the Dark Arts Professor. And, having dinner tonight with a Deputy Minister, who is really Dad. It's a lot of change."

"I know, thank you."

"We have a short side excursion, Professor," said Harry. "See you at breakfast very soon." He grabbed my hand and led me away.

{Off to the owl tower to message Seamus. I want to know if he knows anything about a note from Ollivander and to alert him that the message might mean some Death Eater spies are going to meet at Ollivander's shop, or even that this is a message to order an attack on Ollivander, although I don't know why that would go to Draco or Pansy. It's hard to picture Pansy as an assassin or something. On the other hand, Pansy can reasonably decide to end her stay here at any time and carry orders to someone. As the headmaster would say, I'm simply exercising an overabundance of caution, but I do think Seamus needs to be in the loop.}

"It can't hurt," I replied. "Let's also message Dad and ask him what he knows about your Parseltongue instructor."

{[embarrassed, but I think impressed also] I should have thought of that. I'll have to see Professor McGonagall before my next Parseltongue class. The note may also have been the signal to Draco that they would move against me at the next class.}

When we reached the owls, we quickly scribbled out notes and then hunted for suitable looking owls: birds that had the endurance to quickly reach London, but without looking too conspicuous. So not too big an owl, but one that looked really healthy.

"I haven't replaced Hedwig. I guess she was a friend from my days alone at the Dursleys' that is irreplaceable. A bird could never be that big a friend again, without the extreme loneliness. But at times like this, I realize I need to shake off the sentiment and get my own owl, one that can at least be a trustworthy tool. We don't even know whether any of these birds belonged to the Carrows."

"Good point, Harry. I'm going to rewrite my note so that it doesn't give away much to anyone other than Dad." I hastily scribbled: Hi Dad. Mom's fine. We're working hard. Ministry sent a Parseltongue tutor for Harry. Feel deficient not knowing Ministry had tutors. I have much more I need to learn, so good to be back at Hogwarts. Thanks for your help.

I found a small grey owl that I thought would blend into the overcast sky, attached the message and sent him on his way. Harry had already dispatched his message, so we turned and headed for breakfast as soon as I released my bird.

We arrived at breakfast after the mail owls. Hermione was holding my copy of The Daily Prophet. The banner headline read

**MINISTER SAYS DEPUTY UNDER MINISTER UMBRIDGE A DEATH EATER – ARRESTED AFTER ASSAULT ON HOGWARTS' HEADMISTRESS**

"The story is basically true," said Hermione, upon noting that I was trying to read the paper, "although you certainly wouldn't get the impression that she was unconscious from what is written here."

Hermione handed my paper back to me and I turned to the back page to find a picture of Mrs. Crabbe, below the headline:

**MINISTRY WANTS TO TALK TO WIFE OF DEATH EATER. MILLICENT CRABBE GOES MISSING**

The story explained that the Aurors' Office wanted to speak to Mrs. Crabbe about her role in the riot aboard the Hogwarts Express, but that she was not at home and nobody knew where she was. Her close friends, the Goyles, were also missing. Anyone having information about their whereabouts….

I searched the rest of the paper for any news about a pending reopening of Ollivander's wand shop, but there was nothing in the news or in the very foreshortened advertising pages. Diagon Alley had yet to return to its customary prosperity. I realized I was missing some interesting conversation and folded up the paper.

"I'm so glad you all spent a quiet evening," McGonagall was saying. "We can all use a return to normalcy. It's draining going about your daily business with the sense that you're under siege. I know the students have apparating class again this morning. We'll be having a light lunch today, because the students are having dinner with the Minister.

"I thought we were having supper with the Minister," emerged from my youngest brother.

"Protocol, Ron," said McGonagall, "anytime you share food with the Minister after 9:00 in the morning is dinner, even if he doesn't serve you more than tea and stale crumpets.

"Now, as I was saying, after lunch, Mr. Bulstrode, I think another Parseltongue lesson for Harry and Draco would be in order."

Harry grabbed my hand. {[decisiveness] After breakfast, I want you to tell the headmistress that you have a personal matter that you need to discuss with her. You might imply that it involves awkwardness with your mother. Brief her on what happened last night and tell, err, ask, her to get me out of the Parseltongue class} Harry dropped my hand, and in an instant his hand was replaced by the envelope.

I worked my way through breakfast, which today was a fairly unsavory combination of porridge, stewed prunes, sugary tea, and broiled tomato with melted gruyere cheese on top. At least the tomato was good.

McGonagall ostentatiously pushed her plate aside, in a gesture indicating that it was time to get on with our morning's work. We all scrambled to our feet. "I'll join you shortly, Harry," I said overly loudly. Then leaning across the table toward McGonagall I said in a stage whisper, "Can I speak to you alone for a few minutes. I've got an um err personal issue that I need to discuss. You see, living with an um Professor Mom … Well, I'd really appreciate it if you could spare me a few minutes before apparating class."

"Come with me," she ordered me and to the others "Miss Weasley will be along in a moment. Where is the apparating class assembling?"

"We'll be at the main gate," replied Bill. "Apparating is important, but I find it can't replace a brisk morning walk."

McGonagall led the way to her office at a very quick pace for my shorter legs. She showed her card to the gargoyle and we walked up the stairs, "I'm assured they'll be working again, soon," McGonagall said cheerily, but as soon as we were inside her office door, she fixed me with a 'this better be good, Miss Weasley' look. That unsettled me enough, that I quickly pulled the envelope from my robes and shoved it into her hand.

"Mr. Bulstrode left the Ravenclaw dorm last night and left this note outside the Slytherin House", I blurted out, before settling down and giving a fuller explanation. "Bulstrode is a Slytherin", I said. "He must be Millicent's grandfather."

"Of course he is," replied McGonagall calmly, "I'd be unlikely to find a Parseltongue instructor or even a Parseltongue speaker from any of the other Houses. But, I agree that Mr. Bulstrode bears watching. I think Harry should continue with his lesson as planned, but I'll make sure the aurors are nearby and Harry should keep his wand ready and not turn his back on Draco or Mr. Bulstrode. It was prudent to check with Ollivander, but I think we can safely assume that this is another coded message. Thank you for the update Ginny, now you'd better get off to your lesson."

I walked so rapidly that I arrived at the gate panting, and I'm sure red faced. Bill repeated the instructions for me. "You all remember where you were standing behind the hut, yesterday. I want you standing here in exactly the same formation that you assumed behind the hut, and then we're going to disapparate in unison."

I hurried to assume my position, and grabbed my wand.

"Now, get ready, on my mark, NOW!"

The trip wasn't quite as disconcerting as yesterday's, and we all arrived in one piece, earning a broad, and I think very attractive, smile from Bill.

"Okay, now we are going to try some quick, short range apparating, as you might do in a battle. The tricky part in a battle is not to apparate into the same spot that one of your comrades or opponents has chosen. So you want to avoid getting in too close to your opponent, so there is less chance of overlap. "You don't want to worry about burying your feet in the ground, so it helps to levitate about a foot while you do this. I don't want to start with the intricacies of group combat, so I'll walk you through this one at a time. I'm going to stand over here and you can practice attacking me. We'll do this in order George, Hermione, Ron, Harry, Draco, Luna, Pansy, Ginny. Form a line over there. I'll show George what to do, and the rest can follow, when it's your turn.

"Step right over here, George, and take out your wand. I'm going to start here ten feet in front of you and try to attack you. Stand still, but you can turn in place, as I will do, when you're the attacker. That way there is no chance of my apparating in a position that you've moved to. To avoid that, I'm going to note your position and the direction you're moving in before I disapparate, and I'm going to always aim for a spot ten feet or a little more behind you. I may change my elevation, to make it tougher for you to aim your wand at me. For this exercise, we're going to limit ourselves to just four apparations. I don't want anyone getting dizzy and missing their apparating marks. And I don't want any injuries, so no spells, other than 'protego', 'wingardium leviosa', and 'expelliarmus'. Does anybody not understand these rules? Okay, we're going to start in 1, 2, 3, NOW!"

They both had their wands drawn. George shouted "expelliarmus", but Bill had already apparated to a point a dozen feet behind his back and five feet in the air. George had turned and was almost facing him again. This time George shouted "protego". Bill had yet to fire a spell of any sort, but had again vanished, to appear six inches above the ground and ninety degrees from where he had been, but now about twenty feet off. George had rotated clockwise, while Bill's ninety degrees had been counterclockwise, so that Bill was now facing George's left shoulder. "Expelliarmus" shouted Bill, and George's wand was flying away from him, to land at my feet.

"This is how the Death Eaters fought us at the Ministry," said Ron. "I can see why they gave us such a tough time."

George walked over and retrieved his wand. "Okay, your turn to attack me, George," said Bill. "I'm going to stand over here, you may start from whatever position you want and attack whenever you're ready."

George took a step forward and then raised his wand and shouted "expelliarmus", but Bill blocked the spell. George apparated directly behind Bill, but shouted "protego" as Bill wheeled around. As Bill was shouting "expelliarmus", George had already disapparated, to reappear twenty feet directly above Bill and shout "expelliarmus' again, this time dislodging Bill's wand." George was smiling as he gently drifted down to a landing at the end of the line.

"George used the vertical battle space very effectively," complimented Bill. "If you do that, especially if you apparate to directly on top of your opponent, as George did, it can be very dangerous if you don't get enough elevation. Since apparating straight up seems to be one of the most common instinctual evasion courses in a fight, there is a danger of the two opponents apparating at the same time and overlapping, which would be the end of both wizards. George went higher than I would normally go automatically on defense, and as an auror you train yourself to have a few standard reflex responses, if attacked. George's strategy wasn't too risky."

Being last gave me extra time to worry about how well I would perform. In the end, we all did reasonably well, and Bill complimented me. Draco managed to do three apparations, before puking his guts out on the fourth, but he had actually disarmed Bill with his third attempt. Hermione did especially well, and Harry drew a caution from Bill for apparating within four feet of him. Bill said that this was the sort of overly-aggressive risk taking that could get an inexperienced wizard in trouble. Harry looked mildly defiant to get called on his rule-breaking, but settled down and tried to calm me for my turn.

Bill then had us apparate back to the gate, where we had started, and then to the lawn in front of the castle's main entrance. Bill said we were all definitely improving, and he would see us at lunch.

As we walked into the castle, I shot Harry a "what was that all about look". Harry took my hand.

{[calm] I didn't want to give Draco or Pansy any idea how I would actually move during a fight. That will give them something to think about, as will George's maneuver. I also wanted to see how well I could control the apparating moving a little closer to a person. It was actually dead on. How did you make out with McGonagall?}

Since the others weren't that far from us, I simply said "I'm going to work in the library this afternoon, since you do have a Parseltongue class. McGonagall does take that very seriously."

{[a little upset] Oh. I assume she'll at least be ready to provide some assistance if I'm attacked.}

I nodded yes.

{[annoyed] So, I've gone from being this fragile thing, to being bait. I'm soon going to have to demonstrate to our headmaster that I'll be taking risks, but of my own time and choosing. [a little angry/resigned] I'll play her game for now. I gotta say, I'm not at all pleased with combat training for Draco and Pansy.}

"I'm entirely sympathetic and in agreement," I said, "but I still have to do my library research."

We had an hour before lunch, so we made our way back to the Gryffindor common room.

Professor Weasley was waiting for us in the Common Room and told Harry that McGonagall wanted to speak to him in her office. Harry and I shot each other questioning looks, but he turned to go back through the portal. He stopped and suggested that we all have a good look at the map. All was in order, except that the aurors were now in the infirmary with Umbridge and Madam Pomphrey. Professor Sprout had been relieved of her infirmary guarding chores and was nowhere in the castle. We noted that Malfoy and Pansy were already back in the Slytherin common room.

"I'll leave the map here, so you can keep watch while I'm gone," said Harry. "The common room seems to have been tidied, so perhaps we should redeploy the Whiz Bangs."

After Harry left, I had to reassure Mom that the 'personal problem' that I had earlier was just a ruse to take the note to McGonagall and that I had no problem at all with her staying in the Gryffindor dorm, for the time being. I had to say this, for Mom's sake, even though I do feel strange about her living here. I gave an account of my meeting with McGonagall. Ron said, "She may know what she's doing, but I think it's lame asking Harry to be alone with Draco and Mr. Bulstrode."

"I trust McGonagall," replied Hermione, "but she had better be explaining her plan to Harry, right now. In her favor, she has been the bait, since last night, so she is treating Harry no differently than herself."

Mom said, "this has been a revelation to me. When I shipped you off to Hogwarts each year, I always thought I was sending you to a safe place. The trips to Diagon Alley always seemed much more hazardous. I can't believe the amount of danger and intrigue in this place. There were Death Eaters about in the Wizarding world when your father and I were students, but Hogwarts always seemed a safe refuge from all of that."

"This has always been part school, part nest of spies, and part battleground," replied George. "For some reason, Voldemort always seemed drawn back to this place. I was happy to get out in the world."

Harry reappeared just a few minutes before we needed to set out for lunch. "It's fine," he said. "She mainly had an errand for me, which I'll explain later. She explained about the Parseltongue lesson, and I think I'll be safe. More importantly, I think I convinced her that Draco and Pansy, or at the very least Pansy, have been given quite enough combat lessons. I also got her agreement to share with all of you a previous favor that I did for her. It didn't seem significant at the time, but in light of recent events, I think it might be important. In any case, you deserve to know, and I'm interested in your thoughts on the matter. Now, let's go to lunch. Apparating, and a rather appalling breakfast, have made me quite hungry."

We walked to the Great Hall in silence. I think all of us were still digesting the mysterious hints that Harry had thrown out so casually. We would have a long talk in the afternoon.

The lamb sandwiches for lunch were leftover and had acquired a slight gaminess. It was still fine, and the bread was nice and fresh. However, it was a very spicy hot pumpkin curry soup, served with warm fresh Naan bread, which made the meal. I eyed a question to McGonagall.

"We find that many of the students are only comfortable with classic English cooking," she replied. "We have even had students bring notes from home demanding mashed potatoes instead of rice. When it's just the staff, we like to be a little more adventuresome and much of the staff considers Indian, Thai and Chinese food to be a rare, between-terms treat. The Elves are perfectly capable of preparing any cuisine. Certain ingredients may be scarce from time to time, but we have an excellent supply of herbs and spices. Many of them have uses in potions, so it just makes sense to keep a good supply on hand." We had very nice oranges for dessert.

I noticed that Mr. Bulstrode was surreptitiously trying to attract Pansy's attention a few times over lunch. As we got up to leave the table, he drifted in her direction, and I saw him whisper a few words to her. She shook her head no, and then I heard her reply, "why would I?" as she walked away.

We had less than an hour in the common room, before Harry had to go off for his Parseltongue lesson. This time McGonagall decided that they might have better luck conducting the instruction at the very gates of the Chamber of Secrets, in Myrtle's bathroom. Anyway, with little time to spare, Harry dropped the bomb very directly.

"On the first day after the Battle of Hogwarts, Professor McGonagall asked me to help her secrete Narcissa Malfoy in a place of safety. I was asked to summon Kreacher, and he apparated her to Grimmauld Place. As far as I know, she has been there ever since, although I've had no contact with her or Kreacher. I felt I had to mention this now, because in all the talk of Elves, I became unsure that Kreacher would refuse to do Narcissa's bidding, and suspected he might be responsible for the break-in of the girls' dorm. Second point, the errand that Professor McGonagall asked me to perform, is to transport Voldemort's wand when we go to dine with the Minister. We're going to his home, not the Ministry, by the way. She wants him to have that wand. She also asked me to give him Dumbledore's wand, but I refused. Finally, about my lesson, there is to be an auror hiding in the stalls, before any of us enter and Myrtle promised to alert McGonagall 'if there is a fight'. Your thoughts, please."

"A Malfoy at your house!" shouted Ron, "and aren't Narcissa and Kreacher great friends?"

"Yes", replied Harry, "that is the potential problem in a nutshell. I believe Narcissa is Kreacher's favorite person who is still alive. He's warmed up to me, but she's been his friend since she was a child."

"McGonagall trusts Draco, because of her deal with Narcissa and Draco's determination to protect his mother," said Hermione. "If Narcissa can't be trusted, then Draco and Pansy are immediate threats. If Kreacher can't be trusted, you've lost a safe home base away from Hogwarts. We need to get to the bottom of this quickly. Meanwhile, you need to be very careful at your class."

"The headmistress must believe that Voldemort's wand is no longer safe at Hogwarts," mused Mom. "The Minister would be here in a couple days and she could give it to him personally. Something must have changed since last night. It seems dangerous for her to combine all of you and three special wands in one trip to the Minister's home. I don't even know how secure his house is. I can understand that he fears spies at the Ministry. Hopefully he has a squad of aurors on hand."

"I won't be taking Dumbledore's wand to the Minister's house," Harry replied.

"We'll protect it, in your absence," declared George.

"Yes, you will," replied Harry, "it's going to whence cometh the sword of Gryffindor, and you're going to lead its guard, protecting Professor McGonagall at the same time."

With that, Harry left to meet his tutor, and I headed to the library. I was a little annoyed when Hermione insisted upon accompanying me to the library. I didn't want her to know what I was researching. At least it would be a very random search, since I had no idea where I would find information on Wizard whisper communication. As soon as we reached the library, Hermione, of course, asked me "what are you researching? I probably can help, I've spent a lot of time in here, and Professor McGonagall has given me access to the restricted books."

"It's private, and a little embarrassing," was the best answer I could give, even though I had anticipated this question from the moment Hermione wanted to tag along.

"Is it about all of this hand holding and secret communication that you and Harry have been doing the past few days? That's been a little hard to miss," replied Hermione. "It's great that the two of you are snogging, but all of the hand holding is more of a Muggle thing, and since you're a Witch and Harry's Harry, I don't think either of you has done much of it in the past."

"Well, it is very pleasant," I replied.

"Yes, but it's more than that. You don't just do it at romantic times. It's like some form of secret communication, when you and Harry don't want to be overheard."

"Wow," I said, "no wonder Harry says you're super smart. I'm not trying to be super secretive, I just don't want everyone to think of us as freaks. It could be more than a little embarrassing, especially with Mom around. And Ron."

"I won't say a word to anyone else, if you don't want me to," replied Hermione, "but I'm as good a library research resource as you could find, and you know that I have both your and Harry's best interests at heart."

"Okay," I replied, "here's the deal…."

"I don't think that's anything to be worried or ashamed about," Hermione said when I was through, "and I think that you and Harry are right to practice. That could be a handy skill to have, especially if you can extend the range. What you describe is what Muggles call telepathy, and I've never heard of it discussed in quite that way in all of my Hogwarts experience, but I've certainly heard of Wizards being in other Wizards' minds. Occlumency is an established subject of Wizard education, so I'm guessing your experience isn't that uncommon. I think we might start our research in books on Occlumency."

I was surprised how matter-of-factly Hermione reacted to my sharing of the secret. We researched together for over an hour, without finding anything directly on point. It was perhaps a matter of perspective. The Occlumency books spoke of stealing thoughts, leaky minds, and training your mind to be less leaky and subject to attack. It did not mention the possibility of deliberately broadcasting your thoughts to another, as Harry had done with me. Hermione was concluding that we were on the right track and if we had more time she would have wanted to also explore the organizing and extracting of your thoughts for future viewing in a Pensieve. In rummaging the shelves, we had seen only a passing reference to the Pensieve. It was at this point that Harry rejoined us.

"Very dull after all the worry in anticipation," was Harry's introductory description. "In summary, let me say that the Chamber of Secrets remains sealed, I have yet to recapture my ability to speak Parseltongue,and Mr. Bulstrode pronounced Draco an equal failure, although for all I could tell, Draco could be fluent in Parseltongue. Beyond that, I was not attacked, Draco and Bulstrode showed no signs of a conspiracy, and Draco in fact was a little curious about what Bulstrode had said to Pansy. Bulstrode said that was apparently all a misunderstanding and he may have misinterpreted his granddaughter's request - a response that seemed to leave Draco as confused as me. The auror stayed hidden in his stall, nobody tried to snatch my wand, and Myrtle's only appearance was a brief flirtation with Draco, who told her that Pansy was at school with him. That sent Myrtle weeping into the toilet. Now, I think it's time to go back to the dorm."

"Okay," said Hermione, "I think I've digested all of that. I'm glad you're safe, but I don't think that's done anything to move forward our understanding of our various mysteries."

I don't know whether it was self-consciousness, or guilt at betraying our secret to Hermione, but I stayed far enough away from Harry during the walk back to the common room, to avoid any hand holding. I guess, basically, I didn't want the secret to spread beyond Harry, me, and Hermione. Mom already seemed suspicious of something, which was why I was uncomfortable with her living in Gryffindor House.

As we entered the common room, we found the others deep in conversation. Ron looked up as we approached the circle, "We've been debating what our next moves should be, but first, how did Harry's lesson go."

Harry repeated the summary he had given Hermione and me, almost word for word, and then asked, "so, what have you decided?"

"We think you should summon Kreacher and ask for a household report, and just try to feel him out to see if you can coax out a sense of where his loyalties lie. It'll take a little planning to come up with the right questions. Perhaps casual … Professor McGonagall asked how things are going, or you were considering staying at Grimmauld Place for a few days during a trip to the Ministry. Just throw some things out there and see if he gives anything away. Try to sneak up on whether or not he knows Pansy is here at Hogwarts, for instance."

"Those are good ideas, Ron," replied Harry. "I think we should follow up on them tomorrow, after we find out what the Minister wants to say to us. I think it might not be a bad idea to actually make a trip to Grimmauld Place and see what we can worm out of Narcissa. She's bound to want to talk to us about Draco and any dangers here at Hogwarts, so in the mutual feeling out, she may well let on more than she intends to."

"I was thinking," said Luna, "we did make that big batch of Veritaserum and we even stole some liquid luck, so if you're planning on a confrontation with Narcissa, perhaps we slip one potion to her and the other to you, and just see what happens."

"I like the way her mind works," said Ron.

"Anything interesting from the map?" asked Harry.

"While Draco was in class with you, Pansy walked out to the main gate," replied Ron. "George borrowed your broom and the two of us flew out there to investigate, high enough that there was no chance of her spotting us. She was just leaving as we got close enough to see, but we didn't see anyone else near the gate, or anywhere along the path down to the rails. We even landed after she was far away from the gate and searched to see if she had left a message for somebody, but we didn't see anything on either side of the gate."

"I was watching the map," said Luna. "She went straight back to the Slytherin common room and stayed there until Draco returned from class. Draco made no stops, and Mr. Bulstrode went straight back to the Ravenclaw common room."

"So, what should one wear, and what do we have to wear to dinner with the Minister?" asked Hermione.

"I've taken care of that and had Ministry formal robes delivered for each of us. They're over there, behind the sofa," replied Mom.

"She better not have gotten me a frilly dress, like the one she sent me for the Triwizard's Ball," moped Ron.

"I'm sure she got you something really tasteful," replied George.

"More to the point," Hermione said, "are we going to agree to help the Minister with his election campaign?"

"I'm leaning that way," Harry replied, "although I think I must insist upon one precondition, and you know how that can turn out. Last time, all I wanted from Scrimgouer was a little thing – just freeing Stan Shunpike, whom everyone knew was innocent—and he turned me down cold. This time, the justice that I'm seeking is the return of Hagrid's wand. Everyone knows that Voldemort was responsible for the death of Myrtle and that he framed Hagrid. I think Hagrid has suffered more than enough".

"I'm with you," Ron seconded Harry's thoughts, "even though Dad is going to be disappointed if I don't help his campaign".

The rest of us nodded and murmured our assent that getting back Hagrid's wand should be a precondition.

"By the way, George, here is Dumbledore's wand," said Harry. "Please keep it safe for me."

"No problem, mate," replied George. "Hagrid is going to help me stand guard, and McGonagall has recruited Flitwick and Trelawney. I'm not sure why she expects Trelawney to be any good in a fight. As I recall, her best move is throwing glass balls."

Nobody had noticed Mom taking her gown up to her dorm room to change. She had assigned herself the fifth year's room. She closed the door to the room and we were startled by, "RONALD WEASLEY…."

"You didn't!" screamed Ron. "You built Mom's howler to me into your Weasley's Whiz Bangs, and you're going to sell them to the whole school? Did you save that howler all this time?"

"Some memories, like that howler and the look on your little face, just get indelibly scribed in the brain. I used Dumbledore's memory extraction trick. Lee found a way to multiply the memory and copy the sound into the Whiz Bang. I don't understand it, but Lee's scary smart".

"And you're scary scary, you traitor," retorted Ron.

Hermione had climbed the stairs and silenced the contraptions.

Ron sulked the whole time until we were to depart for the Minister's house. Then, he took great delight that George hadn't been invited. Promptly at 5:30 P.M., Bill Baggins requested entry to Gryffindor and escorted us down to the lawn in front of the Entry Hall. He asked us to form a circle and all join hands. "I do apologize for this mode of travel," said Bill "I know you could fly and most of you could apparate on your own, but the location of the Minister's house is strictly secret. The Minister trusts you, and I certainly trust you, but the only way to enforce security rules like this one is to never make an exception. So again, I apologize, but…" and then he apparated us as a group. After a sickening ride that seemed to last minutes, we found ourselves deposited on the lawn of the Minister's home. At least some of us were deposited on the ground. My side of the circle was tilted upward and I fell about three feet to the ground.


	20. Chapter 20

**Chapter Twenty – The New Minister of Magic**

"I thought we might get a little twisted in transit, so I aimed for a point a couple feet off the ground. Sorry it was a little higher for some of you, hopefully nobody twisted an ankle."

I was about to tell Bill that no harm was done, when I looked up to see the Minister approaching us across the lawn, with hand outstretched. I thought he'd make for Harry, but his initial approach was to Mom.

"It is a pleasure to be able to entertain the Deputy Minister's distinguished wife," said the Minister, shaking Mom's hand. "Thank you for accepting my invitation, Mr. Potter, and welcome to all of you, Neville, Hermione, Ron, Ginny, Luna," the Minister intoned, shaking each of our hands. Now if you'll follow me indoors. It's not good to spend too much time out in the open."

Looking around, I saw several acres of well-maintained lawn and what appeared to be a large vegetable garden and a greenhouse, surrounded by tall hedges and a gated fence. We were walking toward a fairly large brick mansion. Hermione remarked, "It looks like we're somewhere in Surrey, and this is a very fine, well maintained house of Regency design. I can't wait to see the inside."

We weren't shown much of the inside. The Minister led us straight across a large half-circle brick patio, through wide glass-paned brilliant white doors, into an elegant sitting room. The room was painted a rich forest green, with a gold-embossed strip separating the walls from a sky blue ceiling. A dark blue and cream oriental rug with a dragon design, looking like no dragon I had ever seen, covered most of the floor. The Minister ushered us into deep overstuffed velvet chairs of a deep burgundy color, which were just amazingly comfortable. The whole place seemed rich, brightly colored, inauthentic, and overly-much verging on clashing to my humble Witch tastes, although it might be just the thing for a wealthy Muggle.

"Make yourself comfortable", declared the Minister, signaling to a house Elf, who passed around small glasses of sherry. "I borrowed this house from a Muggle friend. He is entirely trusty worth and very few Wizards even realize that I'm acquainted with him. I thought it best not to stay at my own house until we can finish clearing up the present mess at the Ministry. Don't know who is a spy, or a Death Eater assassin. I've grown very accustomed to this Muggle sherry. Please give it a try."

I gave a glance at Mom, but she returned a look that said 'if the headmistress or the Minister offers you sherry to drink, I'm certainly not going to tell you not to drink it'. To my decidedly uneducated taste, the Minister's sherry seemed not quite up to the level of McGonagall's Witch-made drink. It was quite good, however, and I eventually had a second glass, with a look from Mom suggesting that a third would be inappropriate.

The Minister led the chit chat until we must have started to look fairly relaxed, or partially inebriated, then looking straight into Harry's eyes, he launched into the matter at hand. "This is a critical time in the Wizarding world, Harry, and stability is important. We've only begun cleaning out the more obvious Voldemort supporters from the Ministry. He even had supporters among the aurors. It has been determined that the election for a permanent Minister is going to be held in eight weeks. I don't even know if we will have serious opposition, but the Deputy Minister and I think it important to have your support, really the support of all of you, in that election. I know you've always stayed out of politics, but Minister Weasley and I were both part of Dumbledore's team, and you know us both. Our major position in the election is clearly going to be the replacement of Voldemort with a freely-elected Minister who supports democracy and the interests of all magical creatures. As the Heroes of the Battle of Hogwarts, the support of all of you is very important. Would you be willing to consider a formal or informal endorsement, or just to be seen working with our team at the Ministry?"

"Err..." Harry started to say, when the Minister cut him off.

"I don't expect an immediate decision. I know you'll want to think it over and talk amongst yourselves, before giving an answer. I promise to respect your decision, whatever it is. If the answer is yes, we won't be asking for too much of your time, and we won't ask you to behave like politicians or to say anything that you don't believe. Whether you say yes or no, we are interested in your help in cleaning up the Death Eaters, and I'm willing to help you and keep you up to date on what the Ministry knows, as long as I'm the Minister. I'd be foolish not to trust you, after what you've done."

This apparently struck Harry as the time to drink some more sherry. Despite Mom's look, I took a third glass, and sipped at it slowly. After a few minutes, during which the Minister seemed to want nothing more than to chat merrily with Mom, Harry exchanged glances with the rest of us. A few gave short yes nods. Harry reached out and put his hand on the arm of my chair, very close to my own hand.

{[confidence] I want to say yes, but think we should talk about it tonight before making a definite commitment. Shacklebolt is a different situation than Scrimgouer, and we have your father to keep him honest. Do you have any objection to a tentative yes? If okay, move your hand now.}

I lifted my hand and placed it in my lap.

Harry looked at the others one by one. Everyone seemed positive.

"Minister", Harry tentatively interrupted the Minister's conversation with Mom. The Minister instantly moved his attention to Harry. "I think we're going to say yes," said Harry, "but we'd like to talk it over in detail among ourselves tonight. And we've decided on one pre-condition, one which would show that your administration really is interested in justice and righting the wrongs of Voldemort and his gang."

"What is the condition, Harry?" The minister said, with a little coolness slipping into his voice.

"We all know that Hagrid was innocent of the student death associated with the first opening of the Chamber of Secrets and that he shouldn't have been expelled from Hogwarts. It was really largely prejudice, because of his half Giant heritage".

"Well, you've put your finger on the present problem, with that last phrase," the Minister replied. "With the Giants involved in the attacks on the three Wizarding schools, anti-Giant sentiment is running almost as strong as anti-Death Eater feelings. Let me make a counter-proposal to you. Since I'm sending Hagrid on a trip to meet with the remaining Giants, I could issue a secret decree, that for reasons of state associated with a special mission on behalf of the Ministry, Hagrid is to have his wand restored and be trained to pass his apparating test. Then, when feelings have had a chance to die down a bit, umm, say after the election, I promise that I will officially pardon Hagrid, restore him to full Wizard standing, and give him permanent right to keep his wand. Is that arrangement satisfactory?"

"Yes," Harry replied. "I was afraid you'd say no, because I want to support you. I turned down Scrimgouer when he refused to drop the trumped up charges against Stan Shunpike. So, I'm almost certain that our answer will be yes, but we need to talk it over among ourselves and discuss with you the changes you are planning to make at the Ministry and at Hogwarts."

"Perfectly fine, Harry," replied the Minister, "I'll be at Hogwarts in two days, and you can give me your answer then. We can talk a little more about details, and I'll try to answer any questions that you have, while we eat our dinner."

"Oh, I nearly forgot," blurted Harry, "I have Voldemort's wand for you." Harry reached into his robes and pulled out the wand, which he passed to the Minister. "I don't know whether or not Professor McGonagall told you the story about how we found this wand? "

"No, she didn't, but I'd be happy to hear the tale before we go in to dinner."

Harry spent the next fifteen minutes detailing to the Minister all that had transpired at Hogwarts during the past days.

"I was wrong." declared the Minister. "I'm not at all pleased to hear that tale. Minerva must believe there is still great danger at Hogwarts. Under the circumstances, I'm not at all pleased that she's taken Pansy Parkinson under her roof. Her decision to stay with Draco seems all too convenient. This certainly explains the message that you sent to the Deputy Minister. We're waiting for him, before we go in to dinner. He's been doing some sleuthing in response to your inquiry, but I'll tell you what I know. Mr. Bulstrode has been employed by the Ministry for eighty years. He goes back before Tom Riddle attended Hogwarts, and strikes everyone whom I've spoken to as an apolitical Ministry professional, who enjoys specializing in a not very common, but sometimes vitally important, academic field. Speaking Parseltongue seems very suspicious these days, because of Voldemort and Nagini, and of course the basilisk. There aren't many who can still speak Parseltongue, but there are a few in each generation. Except for yourself, they have all been Slytherins, so it is not at all surprising that Mr. Bulstrode is a Slytherin graduate. Being a member of that particular House didn't have quite the same meaning in Mr. Bulstrode's student days. Anyway, to make a long story short, I've never had any reason to suspect that Bulstrode had any Death Eater leanings or that he was part of Lucius Malfoy's network of allies at the Ministry. Minerva asked me for a Parseltongue tutor, and Bulstrode is the only one I had to offer. Your only alternative would be to learn the language from a snake.

"I think you all need to be very careful when you go back to Hogwarts. I'm definitely going to extend Bill's stay with you. I don't know whether he told you, but, in addition to being an auror, he is also a member of my personal guard. He's been a member of the Order for the past several years. I believe Dumbledore, himself, recruited him. In addition to his absolute loyalty to our cause, he is very bright and has a gift for instruction. I really don't know whether to advise him to remain an auror or to suggest that he teach at Hogwarts. For now, he's a soldier. By the way, if you ever need to communicate with me, you can give a message to Bill and ask him to apparate."

The Minister made a signal with his wand and two of his personal aurors appeared. "This in Bron Turner," he announced. "He's the captain of my personal guard and responsible for my security." The man in question was large, perhaps six feet-six inches, and obviously very fit, despite a stocky frame. Unlike Bill, whom Luna was correct in regarding as a stud, Bron had way too overly square a face to be attractive, and had to be well past fifty. He had very dark hair and eyebrows, really almost a unibrow which curved up outlandishly at the corners, and he was clean shaven.

"Here Bron," said the Minister, "this is Voldemort's wand. Make sure it gets to the Ministry and remains secure."

"This other fellow here," he said pointing to a younger, shorter, blond auror, who had come in with Bron, and who sported an incongruously red beard and mustache, "is Tom Stowe. He's Bron's right-hand man and another member of my personal guard."

We were all exchanging glances that said it was nice to have a somewhat better understanding of our situation, when the doors from the garden opened and Dad walked in.

"Good to see you, Arthur," said the Minister. "We were just about to go in to dinner."

With that, he stood, and led us into a dark blue dining room, with a gold ceiling, and a gleaming dark hardwood floor. A large dining table in an exotic-looking wood stood in the center of the room. It was covered with a delicate lace tablecloth, which revealed more than it covered, and Elves were in the process of filling the table with silver platters of savory food, as we moved to our seats. The Minister sat at one end of the table, with the Deputy Minister at the other. Harry and Neville were seated on either side of the Minister. I was happy to be seated on the other side of Harry, with Hermione across from me and Ron next to her. Mom sat next to Dad.

"Arthur," said the Minister in a cheerful, conversational tone, "I am happy to report that Harry says that these young heroes are likely to agree to help us. He'll let us know in a couple days."

"That's wonderful news," Dad responded, "the ranks of the Order have gotten very thin for what we need to accomplish, and we are not yet at the stage of sorting out whom we can trust or lean very heavily upon, among the Ministry staff. Victory was sweet, but we really weren't prepared to step in and govern."

"Just so," said the Minister. "Harry conditioned his support on our granting Hagrid his wand privileges and full status as a Wizard. That struck me as reasonable. Hagrid was framed by Voldemort and has been in the Order for a long time. It is simple justice for one of our own. I told Harry 'of course, but the half-Giant thing is a little sensitive, so we'll quietly give him his wand back now to use on his mission and go public after the election'. I hope you don't object – I realize it could hurt our election chances if word leaked out."

"This may be out of line, but that does not strike me as justice, Minister. Hagrid is an ally. I am embarrassed that we haven't already moved to formally clear him. I didn't fight Voldemort and almost die at the fangs of his snake in order to perpetuate the unreasonably prejudiced treatment of a kind soul, like Hagrid. I guess I'm just a little disappointed in us and in these young students. I didn't think Harry would put up with the sort of run-around delaying tactics that Scrimgouer gave him about Stan. If I was Harry, I'd make us stand up for what we claimed to be fighting for, before I endorsed us. I say, damn the electoral consequences, we need to show the Wizarding world what we think is right."

Minister Shacklebolt was taken aback by Dad's response. He even spilled a little sherry on himself. He clearly didn't know quite how to respond. He didn't look angry at Dad, just very, very surprised. I don't know why I decided that I was the best person to save the situation. Maybe I felt that Dad had just attacked Harry.

"I think Harry simply trusts you to keep your word a lot more than he trusted Scrimgouer. He also badly wants to support you, really we all do, because he's my boyfriend and you're my Dad."

"I understand that, Ginny. I know inviting you all to dinner and asking for support represents more than a little pressure placed on family and friends. I don't want to pressure you and I don't want you to support me out of a sense of family obligation. Many revolutions are followed by but one honest election and then new tyrants are in place for good. I don't see Kingsley and myself as tyrants in the making, but this will be the most important election of your lives. You are young and you see the world differently than we do. You should hold us to high standards. Don't let us rush you into supporting positions that you oppose. Hermione believes in equal rights for all magical creatures and freeing of the House Elves. That is a very contentious matter. How can you expect that something like that could ever happen, if Kingsley and I balk at a simple request of immediate justice for Hagrid, just because we know that some Wizards don't trust Giants and see Hagrid as a half-blood. Hagrid is an easy decision. You shouldn't back down on that. I can't be a part of Kingsley's team if he can't see a way to do justice by Hagrid before the election."

"If you feel that strongly, of course I'll support restoration of Hagrid's rights," Kingsley found his tongue. "Hagrid is a dear friend. We're in a strong enough position that we can stand on principle and dare our enemies to come after us. You're right, I'm a fighter and I shouldn't back down on helping an old friend get what is only his just due."

As Kingsley fell silent, he stared at the food, evidently worried that it was rapidly cooling to room temperature.

"I did invite you for dinner. Please, help yourselves to the food," said the Minister, as a general pronouncement to all of us. "I'm told the pheasant is very nice, and all the vegetables are fresh from the greenhouse and gardens of this estate."

There was a brief pause, as we all filled our plates, and tried to eat a good deal of the excellent food, without appearing to fall short of the etiquette demanded by the occasion. That activity covered the awkwardness of the Hagrid discussion.

Equilibrium restored, Shacklebolt once again took control of the conversation. "Harry tells me," he addressed my father, "that Umbridge is still unconscious. They have been unable to get anything from her or to decipher the message that she carried with her. And now there has been another message, this one delivered by our own Mr. Bulstrode, to the floor of the corridor outside Slytherin House. What do you make of that?"

"I've been checking everywhere I could think to look, without raising a lot of attention. I can't find anything suspicious about Bulstrode. I did learn that his granddaughter is a particularly close friend of Pansy Parkinson, however. The granddaughter also is well acquainted with the whole Malfoy family, and even spent a summer, apparently as Pansy's companion, at the Malfoy estate. The grandfather seems to have had spats with Lucius and to not get along with him at all. I also got the impression that he is not overly close to his granddaughter. I hope that is of some help."

"It is certainly food for thought and may explain some of what we have observed," said Hermione. "It's possible he was just delivering a message on behalf of his granddaughter. That is consistent with the exchange we witnessed at lunch. I can understand that Millicent knew that Pansy remained at Hogwarts at the last minute and wanted to contact her friend. But how would she know that Mr. Bulstrode was going to Hogwarts to tutor Harry and Draco?"

"Indeed," intoned the Minister.

Dad continued, "I'm told by his office that Bulstrode received the Minister's request, sent home for some clothes and books to be packed in a bag, and was only at his house for an hour or so to collect his bags and some old lecture notes, before he returned to the Ministry and, almost immediately apparated to the Hogwarts gate. Bulstrode's wife died almost a decade ago, and he lives alone."

"Stranger," mused the Minister. "It's sounding more and more like somebody at the Ministry told Bulstrode's family about his trip. Perhaps the family tried to contact him at home or at the Ministry?"

"Nobody contacted the Ministry, but I haven't talked to the house Elf, as yet. I feared tipping off the opposition. I think tomorrow, I'll just make an innocent call to Bulstrode's house and say I was trying to reach him at the Ministry, but found him away," replied Deputy Minister Dad.

"I think it's important to find Draco's wand," said Harry. "That could be the key to decoding the messages. When we get back, we'll try to have a go at them with Pansy's wand, if we can get it from her. We're going to talk to Kreacher tomorrow and are thinking of visiting Grimmauld Place and seeing what we can learn from Mrs. Malfoy. What do you think of that idea?"

"I'm in favor of it," said the Minister. "Drop in casually, but go in force. You can't be totally sure what you'll find waiting for you. I think you're right to tackle Kreacher first. You might give him explicit instructions that absolutely nobody except Narcissa is permitted in the house, other than by your own invitation. We wouldn't want her stashing allies, or even Lucius, there. We've had no luck finding Draco's wand, by the way. The train was thoroughly searched, of course, after Margaret was attacked and her wand stolen. Arthur personally checked the Goyles and Mrs. Crabbe."

"It was a pleasure to cause them so much consternation," added Dad, "but I didn't find anything. It was clear that they had started the ruckus on the train as some sort of diversion, but we couldn't determine to what purpose."

"Did you search Crabbe's body?" I blurted out.

"Of course, Ginny," Dad replied, "what sort of idiot do you take your old Dad to be? There was nothing being transported on the body. That was the first thing we thought of. I'm told the Hogwarts staff also did a check as the train was loading. We didn't just check the Slytherins, we checked to see if anything had been secreted in any of the other students' luggage without their knowledge. I can't vouch that an article wasn't thrown from the train while it was in motion, but we did check the track at the station before anyone was allowed to disembark, and again after they left the station. Of course, what was passed may have been in the form of a verbal message. The Goyles and Mrs. Crabbe disapparated from the Muggle side of the platform, and haven't been heard from since."

Now that was a grim thought that hadn't crossed my mind.

"If I may ask you another question, Sir," asked Harry, "what was the mission that Lucius Malfoy undertook for the Ministry in exchange for Professor McGonagall's protection of Draco?"

"Yes… that is a particularly delicate matter. As a good faith gesture, I'll answer that," replied the Minister. "The Death Eaters caused some nasty damage among the Muggles. I had to agree to give the Muggle Prime Minister 500 million pounds sterling, as recompense. Lucius controlled financial accounts on his own behalf, and on behalf of other wealthy Death Eaters, which were housed in his own and other Muggle financial establishments. Lucius raised the 500 million and transmitted it to the Muggle Treasury. There are few of us who stand a chance at keeping up with Lucius but, as best I can tell, that is almost all the wealth that Lucius and the other followers of Voldemort had hidden among the Muggles. That was the price to prevent the Muggle government from interfering in our affairs. I also, with the help of the Goblins, transferred another couple hundred million pounds sterling worth of precious metals and stones from Gringotts vaults that were confiscated from dead Death Eaters and the Malfoys. So, now you know that little secret. And, with that, I think we should have our dessert, and you should be getting back to Hogwarts."

Dessert was a very rich semi-bitter dark chocolate mousse, topped by sweet whipped cream, heavily laced with vanilla. All I can say is, it was truly excellent. Perhaps the best single thing I've ever eaten.

After dessert, we headed back to the garden and our waiting auror transport.

"I'd say that you were trying to appoint yourself as the new spokesperson for your group," Mom chided as she walked beside me, "but I think it was all the sherry you drank. Didn't you catch my look as you reached for number three. Then another at the table, while you waited to eat. I don't think your father was at all pleased. You think you rescued him. I think you just made it worse. Actually, I'm very proud of Arthur. He did very well tonight."

Harry was walking on the other side of me and I didn't think he could hear Mom. I cringed as I heard "Yes, Mr. Weasley did far better by Hagrid than I did. I think I just tried too hard to convince myself to say yes to the Minister."

I was saved further embarrassment by auror Bill addressing all of us in a loud voice, which cut across all other conversations. "Theoretically, you could apparate back on your own, but since you are still learners and don't know the geographical location of your starting point, I'm going to send us back the same way we came. I'll say it before you figure it out yourselves – my transporting you back, also makes it much less likely that you can apparate here on your own. It wouldn't be safe to try it, by the way. Not only could you embed yourself in a solid object, but the Minister's guard would shoot first and ascertain identities second, if a group of uninvited Wizards were to apparate onto the estate. I really wouldn't recommend it. Now please join hands with me."

I was grateful that all of us were forced into silence.

It was a rough trip on a stomach full of pheasant and chocolate mousse.

"So," said Luna, "which of us get to tell Draco that he's the 500 million pound man? His Dad must really love him a lot. That would explain why he turned against Voldemort."

We apparated just outside the Hogwarts gate, quickly unlinking our hands and drawing our wands in defensive posture, but nobody was waiting to assault us. We walked up to the gate and Professor Flitwick opened the gate and quickly ushered us inside. "Is all well in our absence?" asked Hermione.

"As quiet as you could like," replied Professor Flitwick. "You'll find George and the headmistress in her office. I believe she wanted to see you, before you went off to bed."

Uncertain what to expect from McGonagall at this time of night, we hurried to her office, with some trepidation, fearing what might have happened that couldn't wait until morning. We walked in worried silence, until Luna finally said, "If there was something serious, Professor Flitwick would have mentioned it. Professor McGonagall probably is just being nosey and wants to catch up on Ministry politics."

At least the headmistress was smiling when she turned to see us topping her stairs. "How did your meeting with the Minister go? I understand he was seeking political support from Harry and Neville. When he invited you to dinner, I suspected that he planned to stand for election. I must say I was a little surprised, perhaps naively supposing that he understood that as the interim Minister, it was part of his job to step aside, once the election could be held. Are you planning on supporting him?"

"I think we're going to agree," replied Harry, "I wouldn't want a Death Eater supporter, or even another Scrimgouer, as the next Minister. You'll be pleased to know that the wand was delivered safe and sound to Shacklebolt."

Although walking back to the castle in the cool night air had failed to fully erase the effects of apparating on too much sherry, I'm sure that I saw a look of disappointment on McGonagall's face as Harry said this. I'm equally sure that Harry missed it.

The others took turns giving McGonagall a complete rundown of the dinner and what an elegant house the Minister was staying in. I was reminded of the depth of Hermione's knowledge of Muggle society as she described the house and our dinner place settings.

McGonagall seemed very happy as Harry revealed what Dad had said about returning Hagrid's wand. "Good old Arthur," she beamed. "I'll arrange a little ceremony for Hagrid, when the Minister comes to Hogwarts."

George returned Dumbledore's wand to Harry. "It was a treat just to have custody of the Elder Wand for one evening. I didn't curse anyone, but I practiced some levitation and transfigurations. This stick accomplished what Professor McGonagall declared to be impossible. I briefly turned the Sword of Gryffindor, which is thought to be magically immutable, into a silver chalice. There was a bit of panic, until I got it changed back again."

We headed off to Gryffindor and sleep. Tired as we were, we used the same watch system as the prior night. Harry and I again took the first watch. We sat up in side-by-side arm chairs in front of the fire, like an old married couple. We had to keep the map to Harry's side, in case we drowsed off and it got too close to the fire, so Harry had to monitor the castle on his own. I kept my wand at the ready and was drumming it on my knee, when I got a devilish thought. "Harry, do you think I could practice transformations with the Elder Wand, just to sort of try it out a little. It would be a shame not to handle it before you hide it."

"It's not a toy," Harry replied. "It has killed a lot of Wizards over the ages." He must have seen my frown, because he quickly followed up with "sure, go ahead, just don't try to transfigure anything living."

I amused myself by turning my potions book into a candle and the side table into a ladder. I was also able to rewrite the text of the Daily Prophet article on Umbridge. I tried these tasks with my own wand, also, and concluded the Elder Wand was as truly excellent at these more civilized tasks as it was at slaughter. This gave me another thought. "Harry, do you still have the Ollivander note? I want to take a crack at deciphering its code using the Elder Wand."

Harry pulled the envelope out of his robes. "Here, you're welcome to try, but if it is a coded message, it is likely to only decrypt for one specific wand and maybe even just for one wand holder."

Working on the note kept me amused for most of the remainder of our shift. It seemed hardly any time had passed, when Harry nudged me that our shift was over and that it was time to wake George and Luna. As I returned the Elder Wand to Harry, he commented "I think this needs to go back into last night's hiding place," suggesting that he was less than pleased by my wand play.

I was shaking George to awaken him, when I heard Harry exclaim, "Hang on, we've got movement. Pansy has left Slytherin House and is moving toward Ravenclaw. I hadn't noticed before, but Bulstrode has moved from his bedroom into the Ravenclaw common room".

As Luna was struggling awake, George stumbled over to Harry to find out what all the excitement was about. Harry had spread the map on the side table and the three of us leaned over it, following Pansy's progress to the Ravenclaw entrance. She was soon inside the common room. We watched, as Pansy and Bulstrode remained together for about fifteen minutes, before Pansy left Ravenclaw to return to the Slytherin common room and then the seventh year boys' bedroom that she had been sharing with Draco. Draco hadn't moved during this whole time. The rest of the castle's occupants also appeared to be snug in their beds. Since there seemed nothing else to be done at the moment, Harry and I dragged ourselves off to a corner and laid down on a blanket under his cloak.

{[comfortable] I'm beat. I'll see you in the morning.}

"Goodnight, Harry".


	21. Chapter 21

Chapter Twenty-One – They All Must Die

Thicknesse sat in the darkened room, considering what the messenger had revealed to him. Neither that message nor the darkness improved his mood. This had been his favorite room of this little cottage, normally so light and airy. The need for security now shrouded the room's natural cheeriness under a thick shroud of heavy dark draperies. It was simply too dangerous to draw them aside and throw open the windows for a little light and air. The trapped dust and cat hair from Spike, he had no idea why that woman persisted in calling the beast 'Thicky', were not doing his sinuses any good. Nor was the forced idleness doing his temperament any good. He had always said that as soon as he got a break from his Ministry chores, he would indulge his passion in reading. Now, he had all the time in the world, but couldn't read more than two sentences without losing interest. He had to plan. The situation was bad, but it wasn't yet totally lost. He still had resources and people to command. One of those people was upstairs in the guest room, banished for an hour, lest he learn the identity of the messenger. But now was the time to talk things over and get a plan in progress.

"Barty!" the wand-assisted voice echoed through the cottage. Almost immediately, he heard advancing footsteps and heard an insufficiently submissive "I take it I am allowed back into your presence, Sir."

"Please don't take that attitude, Barty. Compartmentalization is vital, in case one of us is captured. Surely you must understand that I must take precautions against losing both you and my contact inside Hogwarts, should one of your trips unhappily end in your capture. I assure you, I'm not locked up in this cottage by choice."

"What have you learned from Hogwarts?"

"I shan't keep that from you, Barty. Unfortunately, the Daily Prophet is correct, Delores Umbridge is McGonagall's prisoner. It would not be good if she talked, and she will talk. She is not one to fall on her sword to save the rest of us. It also seems that our initial efforts at Hogwarts have failed. Things are happening quickly. There is to be an election for Minister in 69 days. Those fools, Shacklebolt and Weasley, are going to run. That may be our enemy's undoing, although I have little faith in the allies whom we have been forced to choose. Still, buck up, we need to let our fellow Wizards know that there are still a few Death Eaters left in this world."

"Yes, Sir, I look forward to a little action. Lying low does not agree with me. Have you picked a target?"

"I think the Malfoy traitor would be a good example for any friends who might consider abandoning our cause, but that might not be of greatest importance. I think Shacklebolt and Weasley cannot be allowed to become public heroes. Potter is hiding at Hogwarts. If he decides to become more active, I think we can rely upon him to precipitate his own destruction. McGonagall could be a problem. She is a very bright Witch, and she wouldn't be shielding the Malfoy's if that weren't part of a plan to attack us. All remaining Wizard blood is precious, but frankly, I think they all must die.

"Barty, you are as brave and dedicated a soldier as I could ask for, but you are too impetuous. Before you leave, promise me that you will remember what I am about to say. We cannot afford to turn our enemies into martyrs. If we are to prevail, our fellow Wizards must see the Dark Lord as the only true martyr, and our enemies as the criminals who murdered him. Never forget: I am the only true Minister of Magic, chosen by the Dark Lord, himself. All others are criminal usurpers. We must kill our enemies, but first we must destroy them. You must never return to this cottage – you know the protocol for our next meeting. Here is your target."

Thickness handed Barty a single piece of paper. When Barty had finished reading, Thickness pointed at the blazing fireplace.

"One cannot be too careful. The world is full of nosey ears. Now, go and do not fail the Dark Lord or me. Our supporters will lose faith if they don't hear from you."


	22. Chapter 22

**Chapter Twenty-Two – Summer School Is In Session**

Draco and Pansy were already seated and talking animatedly with Professors Trelawney and McGonagall when our contingent from Gryffindor arrived in the Great Hall for breakfast the next morning. We weren't late. The other Professors had yet to arrive.

"It's really spooky and frightening," Pansy was declaring in excited breathlessness. "It's like Slytherin is haunted. We heard strange whooshing and rasping sounds in the night and felt a cold invisible entity passing over us. I don't want to stay there another night. I'm really frightened. Draco isn't willing to admit it out loud, by I think he was also frightened by what happened last night. It was very difficult for either of us to get any sleep. We lay there with our wands in our hands. Would it be possible for us all to sleep together again, like we did the first night after I stayed at Hogwarts? I think Draco and I should move in, at least temporarily with the Gryffindors."

"No way!" shouted Ron. "We're not going to have Slytherins inside Gryffindor. Is nothing sacred anymore? If Slytherin House seems too unsafe to Pansy, perhaps she should just return home. None of us signed up to keep her safe. It's bad enough that Draco tried to kill me after I pledged to protect him from the Death Eaters."

"You're more reasonable, Harry. Couldn't we do it for just one night, to get our courage back?" begged Pansy, in a deliberately meek tone.

"I'd be more sympathetic to your plight, huddled in fear in your scary Slytherin bed all night, unable to sleep," Harry replied, "if I didn't know that you were seen entering the Ravenclaw common room in the middle of the night. What was that about?"

"So, I wanted to consult Mr. Bulstrode about the strange noises. I thought they might be the basilisk speaking Parseltongue. I repeated the sounds as best as I could, but he said they weren't Parseltongue. I wasn't there long and there was nothing sneaky about it, as you're making out. I'm sure Mr. Bulstrode will tell you that my visit was entirely innocent and that I was really, really frightened. He calmed me down a little and I went right back to bed and tried to sleep."

"You didn't say anything about this to me," said an obviously surprised Draco. "I thought you were in bed the whole night."

"You had just fallen off to sleep, and I didn't want to wake you, but it was scarier being the only one of us still awake," Pansy replied.

"That's too shaky a story to gain you admission to Gryffindor," said Hermione, with a tone that said more clearly than her words that the issue was closed. "In fact, if you're so scared, why don't you take Ron's advice and just go home? You seem to have been willing enough to abandon a defenseless sleeping Draco to this terrifying spirit, so don't tell me you feel compelled to stay here with him."

"Don't tell me what I feel," Pansy responded with real heat. "If Draco and I have to face this ourselves in Slytherin, that's what we'll do".

"How terribly brave of you," mumbled Luna, just loud enough to be heard by all.

"I think we'll all stay in our own rooms," McGonagall stated with finality, "but if it would make you feel better, I could ask Professor Slughorn or one of the aurors to move into Slytherin, for the time being."

"Not necessary!" Draco said. "I'll be fine, and so will Pansy, if she doesn't go wandering off by herself at night".

Other Professors had begun to arrive, so we dropped the conversation and ate in a strained silence, until Mr. Bulstrode made a rather belated appearance.

"Mr. Bulstrode, I understand you were entertaining Pansy around 1:00 A.M. last night," said Ron in a voice trying to be more conversational than accusatory.

"You're clearly mistaken young man. I haven't seen Miss Parkinson since dinner last evening."

"Not what she tells us," challenged Ron.

"Oh. Well, yes. I was afraid a totally innocent meeting might seem improper, and I didn't want to cause any unwarranted concerns about Miss Parkinson's actions."

"And what actions would those be?" asked Harry, somewhat maliciously.

"Well, just visiting a male tutor at midnight. It really was totally harmless. She just wanted to ask me about my granddaughter, who is a very good friend."

"Is your granddaughter a disembodied spirit that causes excitable Slytherins to feel creepy chills in the night?" asked Luna.

"Really! This is all very impertinent. Is this how you encourage your students to treat their tutors, headmistress?" complained Bulstrode.

"It certainly isn't how I expect my tutors to behave. I want to speak to you in my office after breakfast," McGonagall replied, in a remarkably neutral tone. "You too, Potter."

{[worried] Ginny, right after breakfast, I want you to find Nearly Headless Nick. Tell him he is likely to be questioned by Professor McGonagall or summoned to her office. Tell him to say that last night he saw Pansy go to and from the Ravenclaw House. Fill in the details for him. Tell him he also saw Bulstrode leave the note at the entrance to Slytherin. Tell him to say he was wandering the corridors at night and heard a sound. I don't want Bulstrode to know I have the map, but want to put on a good show to get him to talk. Thanks.}

The table was now really silent as we returned to eating, and Draco returned to looking at Pansy with a troubled expression. Ron was smirking.

Breakfast next was punctuated by the arrival of owls. The first owl landed in front of me, dropped my copy of The Daily Prophet, waited for its 5 knuts, and then flew away. Shortly after that, three owls arrived in V formation and landed in front of Harry. One actually landed with a foot in Harry's half-finished porridge bowl, depositing a feather, before extracting and shaking off its foot. It was carrying a letter, which Harry removed from its leg. Its two companions had traveled without a burden. Harry unrolled the message and I placed a hand on his elbow as he read the note.

_Dearest Nephew,_

_Got your note. The flier is not from here, the owner knows nothing about it. We are opening soon, if you're interested. Nothing exciting happening here, just lots of hard work and very long hours. I did slip out long enough to purchase these three owls for you. I hope you like them, because you owe me 3 galleons. _

_Your favorite Uncle_

"Not a surprise," said Harry, "but it's good to have that loose end tied up. Nice birds, do you fancy one for yourself?"

There was a large snowy white owl, a medium-sized grey one, and a smallish light grey bird, dappled with brown. Not knowing whether Harry wanted a bird that looked like Hedwig or one that was very definitely not like Hedwig, I stayed away from the white and took the dappled owl. It was cute and I also thought Harry might need an owl with a little more carrying capacity than this one. I was a little surprised when Harry selected the white owl for himself, and began to stroke it.

"Are any of you willing to adopt the third owl?" asked Harry to the rest of our circle."

Ron reached out and picked up the grey owl. "I guess he can be the proper replacement for Scabbers," Ron said. The owl seemed amenable to being adopted and perched on Ron's left shoulder for the remainder of breakfast.

The Daily Prophet wasn't as newsy as the prior issues. There were reports of sightings of some of the more notorious Death Eaters, although none led to any contact with authorities. Remarkably, there were multiple sightings of a Death Eater that I knew to be dead, having seen his lifeless body before it was burned, a remembrance wholly unsuitable to finishing one's breakfast. The meatiest article dealt with a Ministry plan to house a few prisoners at Azkaban on a trial basis. The article implied that the Dementors were back in residence and needed some prisoners to watch over in order not to be tempted to leave the place and terrorize unsuspecting Britons.

McGonagall announced that apparating practice and Parseltongue lessons would have to be moved to the afternoon. She had a busy afternoon, but felt that today was the day for her to begin instructing us on the most salient points of Wizard history. "I know Harry is deficient, but suspect all of you slept through most of Professor Binns' lectures. The Professor will join us, and can fill in any details that I leave out. I thought we might begin with a discussion of some of our distinguished Wizard families and their histories. It sometimes astounds me how little you students know about the history of even your own family. Meet me in my classroom in exactly one hour. This afternoon will feature apparating class at 1:30 and Parseltongue at 3:30. I'll see you all again, very soon."

"I have to go with Professor McGonagall" said Harry, "can the rest of you get the owls back to the common room?"

I told Hermione that I had to find Nick. She agreed to search with me. It took us just a few minutes to find him loitering outside the potions classroom. Nick was happy to help Harry and volunteered to organize a patrol of ghosts at night. "There has been some strange activity the last few nights," Nick said, "sometimes in the pipes and sometimes flitting about in the air - A cool presence, not quite a ghost, but more than a draft."

I didn't see Harry again until we all assembled in McGonagall's classroom.

{[contented] It all went well with Professor McGonagall, I'll fill you in after class. Pansy's motivations are in question but Bulstrode seems an innocent dupe. Professor McGonagall's going to talk to Pansy again.}

"Today's lesson is about how the major Wizard families are aligned and how they arose historically. Family is the most important thing to a Wizard, but all too few Wizards fully understand the history of even their own family, let alone the families that they interact with every day. You act out, without even realizing it, on near-feuds over insults that are hundreds of years old. I wonder", asked McGonagall, "whether any of you knows the history of your own family".

"I know my family history and family tree, on both my mothers' and fathers' side going back four generations," Draco volunteered, proudly.

"To us magical folk, four generations is very recent history. Well, were you aware that your family once was rooted in Eire and owned the largest estate on that island, for six generations?" asked McGonagall.

"No, my parents never talk of ancient history like that," a surprised Draco replied.

"And, did you know that many of Ron's ancestors lived as tenant farmers on your family's Eire estate?"

"No, but if I knew we had Irish estates, I think I would have worked that out, fairly quickly," Draco jeered, looking straight at Ron, who squirmed in his seat. Myself, I'm not going to feel intimidated or swelled with pride over something that happened to my ancestors centuries ago.

"Did you know that your great-great-great-great-grandfather on your mother's side was a pirate?" continued McGonagall. As Draco just spread his hands, with a blank look, McGonagall summarized, "Then I suggest you pay close attention to the rest of this lecture. Draco is not alone. I can assure you that each of you have major things in your family history of which you are unaware. They have a large impact on your life today. I only have time to touch upon the barest essentials, but I advise you all that time spent researching your past will be time very well spent.

"The ancient sources of the Wizarding people are locked in mystery. We do know that magical abilities arose in a few nationalities and were developed in even fewer. We know this happened before the time of recorded history, so that everything is from legends that passed down orally over many generations. In Europe, the magical folks were strongest among the Celts, with others in the Black Forest of Central Europe and a race of Sirens on some of the Greek islands. Magic may have originated even farther to the east, possibly even in Asia.

"Some say the Sirens were the originators of all magical powers and spread them through some of the more primitive European lands, by enchanting foreign leaders to marry them. Siren-related sorceresses had powerful abilities and political power in areas surrounding ancient Greece, including Crete and the Black Sea region, but they were strongly opposed by the Greeks. The last witch of note in that part of the world was Olympias, the Macedonian mother of Alexander the Great.

"So, Witches once had great influence upon Muggles. There also is dispute over whether or not the Greek oracles were truly magical or simply imbibers of intoxicant gases. They may be the source of divination, but in any case they were few in number and lacked any other magical abilities. None of the other peoples of Southern Europe developed magical powers, so wherever the Romans spread their influence, magic came under attack. The remnants of the Greek oracles and the colonies of centaurs fled at that time.

"Magical peoples appeared in Britain and Eire over 5,000 years ago. We don't know their origin and legend suggests that they were few in number and fled from their own people, far to the east. I apologize – I'd be more precise, but who knows what an ancient Brit regarded as far. It could have been as near as France. This original band of less than a hundred Witches and Wizards intermarried with the local peoples and a larger body of persons with magical talents was established. The British Isles, especially Eire and England, became the hotbeds of magical ability and abounded with magical creatures. Wizards were far more numerous than they are today. It is fair to state that Wizards ruled the British Isles for millennia, although there were continuous skirmishes with the Elves and Leprechauns, and even the few Goblins who had moved in from Central Europe. I don't say ruled in the sense of lording it over Muggles, I mean ruled in the sense that the original stone and bronze age people of the British Isles accepted these newcomers as their priestesses, sorceresses, artisans, and leaders.

"When the Celtic culture arrived in the British Isles, our Wizard forebears formed the magical Druids of a Celtic culture that had a significant percentage of people with magical abilities, and in which those abilities were honored. Wizards did not hide among the Muggles as we do now, with magical enchantments to conceal us. We occupied the full range of occupations and geographical locations. Even the Muggles have legends of the important magical beings of this period, while we all know that Merlin was not a myth, but a real Wizard, who lived for nearly two hundred years."

"How did we get from there, to where we are today?" asked Luna.

"The one word answer is ignorance. That is why I choose to teach. Our Wizarding society won't improve until today's Witches and Wizards understand a lot more about their history and the rest of the world. The longer answer is that the Muggles learned, and invented, and adapted far faster than Wizards did. Muggle society changes and advances its technical abilities more in one generation that Wizards do in ten generations. That's partly because there are so many more of them and they share ideas. It's also because so many Wizards stubbornly cling to a false version of our past.

"A Wizard family never forgets a grievance, even if its real cause is long forgotten. That's the big thing. Beyond that, magical creatures going to war with other magical creatures and jealousies among Wizard families have done major damage. The Muggles have also had many wars, but their capacity for change has allowed them to recover from the damage of their wars. We need more of that capacity. And we need it before our numbers becomes so small that it can no longer make a difference.

"The broad downhill path of Wizard society all started over 2,000 years ago, with the Elven Wars. The Wizard leaders of the time chose to enslave the Elves and Leprechauns, and the war raged for hundreds of years. While the skirmishes in that war were gaining intensity, we had the Roman invasion, the spread of Christian influence, and the withdrawal of the Romans. The Wizard-Elven war had to be fought where the Romans weren't, which increasingly became Eire and Scotland. The war climaxed about 1,500 years ago at the time of the Muggle disorders with the departure of the Romans and the Saxon invasion. Since the war was fought by magic, the Muggles within the Celtic population were hardly affected, perceiving just enough misery to spin legends that led to a fear of magic and magical creatures.

"The impact of the war on the magical creatures was immense. The Leprechauns were all but wiped out, and the population of Elves and Wizards fell by at least three quarters. The Elves have been enslaved ever since. I think the Wizards could never bear to free the Elves, because that would acknowledge that the war that destroyed our society was the total disaster that it was. At the end of that war, Wizards no longer were a significant part of Celtic society, they were feared and hated rather than respected, and had already begun to go into hiding.

"When the Wizards ruled Britain, our society tended toward matriarchy, but at least equality between Witches and Wizards. The Christians accepted only their own magic, and that was male. As the Wizarding world went into hiding, one hiding spot was within the church. More than a few Christian saints come from good Wizard families and Wizarding lore was preserved by those Wizards who entered the church. Our spells are spoken in a bastard Latin, because that is the church language in which they were originally recorded. Many of the banned texts suppressed by the church are actually advanced Wizarding texts. You'll find most of them in both the Hogwarts and Vatican libraries. One lasting effect of Wizards hiding within the church has been a shift in Wizarding society, especially the Great Families, toward a patriarchal structure. Which brings me, at last, to the Wizard families.

"The Wizards in Britain and Eire, excepting the Montaignes, are all descended from the interbreeding between the original Wizards, the Stone Age local peoples, and the Celts. Throughout Celtic Britain, they were the holy women and healers, and often the leaders and most feared warriors. We believe it was the pre-Druidic Wizards who first learned to draw magical powers from the Earth, control them through mental power and spells, and anchor powerful spells in first stone and later metal. Later, the Goblins took over much of this role. That's not entirely fair. There is significant evidence that we know of and a good Goblin would say it was indisputable that Goblins had begun to harness magic ten thousand years ago and brought it to Britain less than two thousand years later.

"The basic organization of the modern diminished Wizarding world goes back to the feudal period of the Middle Ages and was based largely upon occupation. The majority of Wizard families were serfs, servants, and tenant farmers. These are commonly called the Minor Families, although some have risen to prominence and wealth in recent years. Generations later, the children of these families still make up the whole of Hufflepuff, with many others sorted into Ravenclaw or Gryffindor. Can there be any stronger proof that Wizards today are ruled by what happened a millennium ago? It is a terrible indictment of our inability to change. I am very sorry that Hogwarts has done its part in preventing progress, but I digress.

"A few of the Wizarding families were wealthy landowners, minor nobles, knights, and clergy. They were well integrated into the Muggle world and able to control their own destiny. These are often called the Great Families. It took a while for this hierarchy to be established, because it was not natural for status in the Wizard world to be totally derivative of honors, favors, and status achieved in the Muggle world. Over time, however, the small numbers, waning influence, and general impoverishment and geographical isolation of the Wizard community made it an appendage of the Muggle world. A secure anchor, such as a minor noble title, church title, or especially a land-holding recognized by the Muggles, was all that was needed to dominate in the Wizard world. Knowledge of Wizard skills, history, arts and artisanship became far less important. The Great Families included the Blacks, the Slytherin/Gaunts, the Malfoys, the Crabbes, the Goyles, the Parkinsons, the Baggins, the Rookwoods, the MacNairs, the Thicknesses, the Crouches, the Gryffindors, and of course, the Montaignes, who are the greatest of the Great Families. The Great Families tended to marry among themselves, based upon arranged marriages, and are pure bloods and very inbred. There have been a lot of cousin and even sibling marriages over the years. The number of children born into the Great Families has declined in recent generations and some of the offspring, like Draco's friends Goyle and Crabbe, are none too bright.

"I hope that you've all observed enough of Wizard society to realize that not all of the Great Families that I have named could still be called anything approaching great in terms of their current wealth, influence, and even numbers. Some are extinct, others quite small in number. Some are reduced to average economic stature and a few are close to destitute, as we know the Gaunts were at the time of Tom Riddle's birth. But whether a Great Family retains the wealth of the Malfoys, or the extreme poverty of the Gaunts, they largely shared one unsavory characteristic, and that is a great bitterness that the power and influence that their family enjoyed in previous generations had passed. The great totem of all Great Families, even many of the most impoverished, was the ownership of a house Elf, to perform most of the domestic duties that the wives perform in other Wizard families."

"I think my family still has plenty of wealth, power, and influence. Or at least we did a week ago," stated Draco.

"Yes," replied McGonagall, "your father had power in the Wizard world to rival the Minister of Magic, and more influence in the Muggle world than any Wizard except Lord Montaigne, and perhaps his son. But your father still chafes that past Malfoy influence is gone. Two millennia ago, Lucius might have ruled Britain. He thinks that is his due. But, I should get back on course. About five hundred years ago, a few of the Great Families saw that their attempt to continue owning and living off estates caused too much involvement with and difficulty from Muggle politics. They chose a new path and moved to the cities and the business of trading. Both their access to our truthtellers and their ability to Imperius or confund Muggles gave them a huge advantage. This was a time when it was easy to use gold and silver in business dealings. These families also had hoards of Muggle money salted away in Gringotts vaults. This was problematic, because money more than about thirty years old drew attention.

"As time passed and Britain became a seafaring merchant and commercial/industrial power, the Great Families split into those who remained on the land and those who set up in the cities, primarily London or Edinburgh. The city families were led by the Blacks and Parkinsons in London and the MacNairs and Crouches in Edinburgh. The city families went from commerce to international shipping and in many cases to outright piracy. They tapped a new source of wealth and found new places to hide and prosper among the Muggles.

"This caused new divisions within the Wizarding world. There has always been a tension and rivalry between the country and city Great Families, as to which best represented the traditions and future of the Wizarding community. Some argued that in moving to the cities and the sea, the urban Wizarding families forsook the natural Earth, from which all magical powers flow.

"In truth, there are vast megaliths under both London and Edinburgh and the Druids concentrated magical powers in all of this rock. London has been a center of magic almost from the moment the Romans settled it as Londinium. It is easier to anchor spells in the mammoth stone buildings of the cities than in a country cottage. This philosophical rivalry masked a jealousy on the part of the poorer land-owning Great Families, who saw the previously poorer families that moved to the cities amassing a wealth that greatly surpassed their own. You will find that many so-called great philosophical disputes are really about money and status, as are most wars.

"The Blacks went from impoverished gentlemen farmers with a handful of tenant farmers to the richest of Wizard families, save the Montaignes. That new formula for Wizarding life lasted several hundred years, after which not only was piracy stamped out, but commerce depended more and more on documentation, bonding, and commercial banking. Most of the city wizards found these changes incompatible with hiding in plain sight. School ties mattered, and Hogwarts was not Oxford, or even Eton. Only the Blacks controlled enough capital to remain in the game, but eventually they too departed and have, quite frankly, lived off accumulated wealth for most of the past century. The Parkinsons faded considerably faster than the Blacks.

"Members of these diverse Great Families have had to work through these difficulties cheek to jowl, as they have almost all been sorted into Slytherin House, and had to mature elbow-to-elbow in each other's company, knowing they were almost certain to marry another Slytherin.

"Pansy, this is of interest to you. The reaction of Draco's parents to your special friendship with their son has more to do with the Great Family schism than it does your family's diminished financial resources. Rich and poor country Great Families have always freely intermarried. Lucius dislikes you, in large measure, because you are city Wizards. As a member of the Black family tree, Narcissa is perfectly accepting of you. It is a little strange, because no Wizard navigates the city better than Lucius. His money is made in the Muggle City, but his heart is in the countryside, and the traditional ways.

"Of course, there have always been rebel exceptions, like Sirius Black, but I'm sure you see my point. I'm also sure that you are all wise enough to have noted the most significant exception, that of Godric Gryffindor, who founded both the Godric's Hollow Wizarding community and Gryffindor House. I'll have more on Godric, later.

"Another group of Wizard families were members of guilds, tradesmen, itinerant tinkers, Wizard healers, some lesser clergy and academics. The most noted of these families are the Ravenclaws from Wales, the Peverells, Dumbledores, and Wrights from Godric's Hollow, the Weasleys from Eire, the McGonagalls from Scotland and the Ollivanders, Fudges and Scrimgouers from other parts of England. Many of these families are largely purebred, marry among themselves, and don't believe in arranged marriages. Still, you will find far more Muggle blood in these families than in the Great Families. Children from these families traditionally sorted into Ravenclaw, but more recently have split between Ravenclaw and Gryffindor. The conflicts between these families and the Great Families have much to do with the origins of what I believe I will call the Voldemort Wars, when I write my history. The Great Families believed the Ravenclaw/Gryffindor group was too accepting of the Goblins and their technology and that they didn't hew closely enough, to the traditional ways. Frankly, they viewed them as uppity non-noble families that had forgotten their proper place in society.

"This might be a good moment to highlight the family of George, Ron and Ginny and the major discord involving the Weasleys and the Malfoys. Near the end of the Elven War, about 1500 years ago, the Weasleys were perhaps the greatest of the Great Families and the only Great Family in Eire. There even are old tales of Weasley kings, but I discount them as unsubstantiated. The Malfoys were established in England, but had been acquiring land in Eire, as the English Wizards were being squeezed off their lands or killed by the English King and nobles. The Weasleys, who originally welcomed the Malfoys to Ireland, played a heroic role in the Elven wars and were largely responsible for the final victory in Eire, but were greatly diminished in numbers and in wealth during that war. They really threw their all into that war, although they had been against it at the start and tried mightily to prevent what they viewed as an English contagion spreading to Eire. Not coincidentally, they saw the Malfoys as leading purveyors of that contagion, although the Elves of Eire were at least as responsible for that war. That is why, to this day, none of the Weasleys have ever owned house Elves."

Hermione beamed at my brother, as McGonagall finished that sentence.

"The Weasleys were greatly acclaimed for their sacrifices after the war was over, but their fortunes and influence had already fallen severely. The Malfoys bought up most of the land holdings of the impoverished Weasleys, ultimately relegating most of the clan to the role of tenant farmers. Some of the Weasleys moved to England and began to reestablish the family's standing. The Malfoys ultimately withdrew from Eire, but the animus between the families remained. The two of you probably never heard the particulars of this history, but it has profoundly affected how you think of each other to this very day, with very little current reason."

"Except that they're poor and still breed like Elves," piped up Draco.

"And except that we don't much care for Death Eaters who think they're great because their dad was rich," returned Ron.

"Well, we need more young Wizards. Our community would be far better off if all the Great Families had as many children as the Weasleys. There was a time, before most of the Great Families became close to sterile, that large families were viewed as the hallmark of success," McGonagall concluded as referee, "and the Malfoys seem to be moving away from the Death Eaters. So if you thought about things less emotionally, the two of you should get along better. But you have interrupted my lesson. Unless you have a legitimate question, I'll thank you to listen in silence.

"Now, back to my story. I've noted the Weasleys among the grouping of families, which might be called the professionals/tradesmen, because that is how they have viewed themselves, these last many generations. Like the Weasleys, many of these families are part of the permanent management of the Ministry of Magic. In my studies of Wizarding history, the Weasley's are the only example I've found of a family that voluntarily left the ranks of the Great Families to go a totally different direction. Impoverishment cannot have been the driver, because many Great Families have slid into a genteel poverty, hoping to sustain themselves in Great Family society long enough to marry their offspring into wealthier Great Families. The Weasleys, feeling that their noble sacrifices during the Elven War were ill appreciated by their fellow Great Families, simply turned their backs and walked away. Although much of the Weasley clan had been truly impoverished, other twigs on the family tree certainly retained enough wealth to remain accepted as a Great Family. The Weasleys who moved to England had more wealth that the average Wizard, and owned their own land, but never sought reentrance into the orbit of the Great Families. They could, in fact, have been what the Goyles or the Parkinsons became. The Gaunts were far poorer, but always considered themselves the remnants of a Great Family. The Weasleys are truly unique."

"It does cast you Weasleys in a somewhat different light," Draco grudgingly admitted.

While this changed my sense of self not one iota, I did notice that Ron was smiling and sitting a little straighter, and Hermione was still looking very pleased.

"This latter group of families are the seat of Wizard knowledge and such technological abilities as we retain. They represent virtually the entire Hogwarts faculty, save the token spot reserved for a Slytherin as head of Slytherin House. In the past two centuries, I don't think there have ever been more than two Hogwarts faculty members at a time who were not graduates of Gryffindor or Ravenclaw. Which reminds me, I really do need to find a Hufflepuff to add to the faculty for next term. Back on point, some of this group of Wizard professionals claimed direct descent from Merlin, and in their hearts believed they were the true Wizarding aristocracy. I'm thinking here primarily of the families from Godric's Hollow and, in particular, the Peverells. There had always been a tension between them and the Great Families, over who should rightly lead the Wizarding world. The first conflict arose between the Gryffindors and the other Great Families. The Gryffindors, who had been the greatest of the Wizard warriors (it is no accident that Gryffindor's symbol is his sword), became more interested in learning than the other Great Families.

Godric caused a near revolt against the other Great Families, when he espoused a belief in equality among Wizarding families and acceptance of Muggle-born Wizards. Godric was the leader of the clan and set up Godric's Hollow for his and like-minded families. When Hogwarts was formed, largely at the urging of Ravenclaw and Gryffindor to preserve Wizard knowledge, it was the split between Godric and the other Great Families that led to the establishment of separate Houses.

"Initially there were to be two Houses, but then other minor fissures and the desire to have Houses of roughly equal size, led to the creation of five Houses, of which the present four remain. The rivalry between Slytherin House and Gryffindor House has echoed over the ages the initial rivalry between Godric and the other Great Families. Well, that and what I consider Slytherin's journey into insanity. It was because of Godric's standing up for the rights of the Muggle-born Wizards, so many years ago, that today the Muggle-born are still invariably sorted into his House.

"The last cause of the breach between the Great Families and the Ravenclaw/Gryffindor grouping was the change in Ministers of Magic. Prior to about two centuries ago, virtually every Minister was a graduate of Slytherin and a descendant of the Great Families. Virtually every Minister of the past century, not counting the usurper Thicknesse, has been a Gryffindor or a Ravenclaw. With the reduction of their political control, the Great Families became more bitter and took a greater interest in pure bloodedness and what they saw as the natural prerogatives of the Great Families. They became bolder, much louder and nastier in their attacks on the Muggle-born Wizards and even developed a philosophy that Wizards should again rule Britain.

"The situation was ripe for the emergence of a tyrant like Voldemort. He was not pure blood, but he was powerful, enamored of Great family prestige, and bitterly anti-Muggle. He seemed like someone who could restore the power of the Great Families, which they had lost largely through their inbreeding and reduced birth rate. Most of the Great Family members who cast their lot with Voldemort viewed him as a useful tool which they could cast aside after they had reemerged on top. They did not count on his megalomania or on the swiftness with which he could turn on his own supporters at the slightest imagined hint of disloyalty.

"The minor Wizarding families who remained as farmers probably followed the traditional Wizard ways the most closely (although nobody outdid the Gaunts in this regard). They are the ones who determine most Wizard elections. They sort into Hufflepuff, but also Ravenclaw and Gryffindor. The familiarity that so many Wizards of this class acquire with their fellow Ravenclaw and Gryffindor classmates of the professional class is another explanation for the decline of the Great Families in Wizard politics.

"I suspect a lot of what I have said today is new to you. Some of it was not passed down to your parents by their forebears – the antipathies tend to be passed down, while the factual causes of them are forgotten. Much of the story is things your parents saved to tell you when you were older. We Wizards are famous for over shielding our children. Despite the excitement of your years at Hogwarts, this school is intended to be a very sheltered and sheltering place, where you can learn the skills needed for life, without doing very much questioning of why things are the way they are. One of the reasons the Houses and the rivalry between them has been maintained, apart from a notion borrowed from Muggle schools that athletic rivalry builds character, is that you learn from an early age before you reach puberty, to exclude persons from certain other Houses as romantic interests. This has well served the Great Families' interest of preventing their offspring from marrying outside of their own class. And that concludes today's lecture. Are there any questions?"

Hermione's hand shot up. "You said there was originally a fifth House at Hogwarts. Where was it and what became of it?"

"That's a little complicated, and a not entirely pretty story. What we call Gryffindor House today, started as Peverell House. It was the House of the Wizard doctors, wand makers, blacksmiths, clergy, and professional spell casters. It was the academic center of Hogwarts. The original Gryffindor was set up by Gryffindor to accommodate only the Muggle-born and those half-bloods who had been raised primarily in the Muggle world. After a generation, Peverell, Ravenclaw, and Gryffindor agreed to combine the three Houses into the two that we have today. This was so long ago, that nobody is quite sure where the original Gryffindor was located. Slytherin referred to it as the 'stables', but that seems unlikely, and simply a derogatory label of his choosing."

"It's not fair to just stop here," I said with some indignation, "what about the other student's families, the Potters, the Longbottoms, and Hermione."

"Very well, Miss Weasley," McGonagall continued, with just a hint of exasperation. "The Potters, of course, are part of the Peverell line. In fact, Harry is the last of the Peverells. The Peverells were a very inventive family, although their quarrelsomeness prevented them from assuming the leadership role that they sought among the class of professional/tradesmen Wizards. The Peverells were a little bitter that they never succeeded in their quest to marry into the Great Families, whom they saw as their true peers. The creators of the Deathly Hallows, the Peverells have spawned more legend and mystery than any of the families in their class. Yes, Miss Weasley?"

"I just remembered, Professor," I answered as boldly as I could - I was not going to be withered down by McGonagall - "Margaret Wright knew that Harry was the last of the Peverell line. It seemed a little odd to me, because I didn't know that, and didn't realize it was common knowledge."

"Margaret's family is also from Godric's Hollow. Her ancestor was the greatest Wizard blacksmith and also of a very inventive mind. He may have been the only close friend of the Peverells. There is some debate, although the Goblins have no doubt about the matter, that the Sword of Gryffindor may have been forged by a Wright, rather than by the Goblins. As Margaret's family still lives very close to Godric's Hollow, I'm not surprised that she knows of Harry's connection to the Peverells. You must also have noticed that Margaret has a certain schoolgirl infatuation with Harry, which would cause her to seek out information about him. It was very distressing to her as a first year to be totally ignored by Harry."

I felt obliged to say "thank you."

"As for the Longbottoms, Neville's family has a long history of service to the Ministry. There have been multiple members of the Longbottom clan in the auror service, going back to its creation, which dates to the formation of the first formal Ministry, centuries ago. I should have included the Longbottoms among the professional Wizarding families that do not derive from Godric's Hollow. Godrick Grffyndor's childhood chum and best adult friend was a Longbottom.

"As for Hermione, her part in Wizard history began when she set foot in Hogwarts for the first time. I'll generalize about the Muggle-born Wizards and say that in addition to typically sorting into Gryffindor, they invariably join the class of professional Wizards, working in the Ministry, at St. Mango's, or teaching at Hogwarts. The Muggle-born have been a constant source of fresh blood and vitality for the Wizarding community. Although mixed blood has become a pejorative among the Great Families in recent years, I need only point out that Voldemort, Professor Snape, and Harry Potter are all of mixed blood, and you won't find more powerful Wizards in their generations. It is ironic that Voldemort hated Muggles so, since the Gaunt Wizard side of his background was a classic example of decay through inbreeding. There was something about his Muggle father's blood that gave him his great powers. I blame his Gaunt blood for the mental instability.

"Now, hopefully I have Miss Weasley's permission to end this lecture. Okay, thank you for your rapt attention. I'll see you at lunch. We'll do another class in about a week.

"Oh, wait, I should give you a preview of your next lesson, so that you can mull it over in your minds before next week, and so," she said looking straight at Hermione, "some of you have a chance to visit the library if you wish. Anyhow, I'm going to change topics a little and talk of the history of wands. Let me just say, wands were an invention. Wizards practiced magic for millennia before the first wand was used. Even Muggle-born Wizard children can practice a bit of magic before they ever see their first wand. So, I want you to think about your early childhood, and your first magical experience. You might also ponder the question of why we Wizards so often talk about wands as if they have a personality of their own. Until next time."


	23. Chapter 23

**Chapter Twenty-Three – Oops!**

We returned to the Gryffindor common room before lunch and everyone, and that included Mom and Professor Longbottom, wanted to know what had happened in McGonagall's office after breakfast.

"Mr. Bulstrode seems a very sheltered academic type", said Harry. "His granddaughter is indeed Pansy's best friend. Apparently she phoned her grandfather at his home the day after she returned from Hogwarts, as she does at the end of every term. She caught her grandfather, just as he said he was leaving for Hogwarts to conduct a special week of tutoring. His granddaughter said she had a very important message for Pansy, that she had been going to send by owl, but that it was secret and she didn't want to risk the owl being intercepted. She begged Mr. Bulstrode to deliver the note personally to Pansy, stressing the importance of nobody else, especially Draco, finding out about the message. Mr. Bulstrode was unsuccessful in catching Pansy alone, and says he foolishly left the message in an envelope at the entrance to Slytherin, knowing Pansy was usually ahead of Draco to breakfast. He was to receive a reply message to his granddaughter, so when he heard nothing he said a few words to Pansy. She knew nothing of a message, but they agreed to meet at night at Ravenclaw. Pansy gave a sleeping potion to Draco.

"It took a lot longer in real life than in my telling. Bulstrode started with denials and innocent outrage, but just collapsed, when McGonagall summoned Nick and he told the story that Ginny arranged. McGonagall accepts Bulstrode's story, but sent him packing back to the Ministry, after a thorough search of his person and belongings. She did find a note from his granddaughter asking what became of her response from Pansy. Mr. Bulstrode says he had not yet sent a return owl. He didn't really have a response, because neither he nor Pansy had seen his granddaughter's message. So… there will be no more Parseltongue lessons, which pleases me, but I don't think we've advanced our understanding of our mysteries very much at all."

"On the contrary," replied Hermione, "I think this points a finger at Pansy and her connection to the Malfoys."

"But, she never actually received any message", protested Ron, gaining himself an 'I don't believe you actually said that' look from Hermione.

Lunch was a quick affair of tuna sandwiches and pea soup. McGonagall matter of factly announced that "Mr. Bulstrode has been summoned back to the Ministry, so for now Parseltongue classes are cancelled. Perhaps, we'll resume them later in the summer". She bolted her food without another word and then announced that she had school business to attend to and would see us at dinner.

We wandered the grounds until it was time for apparating class. We dropped in to see Hagrid as the undeclared, but guided by some strange gravity, destination of our ramblings. Hermione pounded on the door of Hagrid's hut and the door was quickly opened to reveal the towering figure of Hagrid. "Come in, come in", welcomed Hagrid, "I was wondering when you were going to come to visit. I wasn't expecting quite so many of you, George and Ginny were never what I would call regular visitors. I hear you're all taking extra classes this summer. I was hoping to arrange a special class for you on Unicorns".

"That would be wonderful," Hermione over enthused. "I guess you know we're coming back in the Fall. Since I've just about completed all of my required courses, I was thinking of taking your advanced course in Magical Creatures."

That brought a tear to Hagrid's eye. "I'll be seeing a lot more of you lot over the next few weeks. Professor McGonagall told me to escort you on a trip to Beauxbatons and Durmstrang next week, and then Grawp and I are going to meet with the Giants. It should be a great time. There's a lot I can show you over there."

"Haven't heard anything about that yet", replied Harry, "I wonder what Professor McGonagall wants us to do?"

"Oops! I've said too much. I'm sure she'll tell you when she thinks it's right. I gotta go feed a hippogriff, but it's been nice seeing you all."

We completed our rambling around the grounds, wondering about the coming trip and why McGonagall hadn't mentioned it. The end of the walk brought us to the side of Dumbledore's tomb, and the site of our next class. Seeing Pansy and Draco leaning on the tomb and chatting, was evidence that Harry had not been as successful as he thought in persuading McGonagall to deny them additional combat training.

{[upset verging on anger} Professor McGonagall should realize that Draco and Pansy may well end up fighting us with the skills learned here. That takes away any advantage the training would give us.}

We had all voiced a restrained 'hello', when we heard a pop and Bill apparated atop the tomb. "Mark your spots", he shouted. I want you in a circle, two arms lengths apart. That's good enough. Before we do anything else I want you to experience something about apparating into a rock, or at least trying to do so. I'm sure that you all remember the spot that you apparated from inside the gate during our last lesson. I've arranged with the headmaster for that area to be covered by a large obstacle. I want you to begin thinking of apparating to that spot inside the gate when I tell you to BUT THIS IS IMPORTANT IF YOU WANT TO LIVE. DON"T ACTUALLY DISAPPARATE!

"I want you to feel for your destination as you would when you normally disapparate and get a sense of what resistance at the other end feels like. Okay, go ahead and do it. Do you feel how much more effort it seems to take? Good, you should do a check like that before you apparate to a location that you cannot see. Sometimes you'll miss that sense as you disapparate, but will feel unusual resistance, like a head wind, as you're falling toward your destination. That is also a warning that you are about to apparate into a solid object. If you sense that, you must immediately divert to another landing zone. It's best to choose one as close as possible to your original destination, but I know aurors who have been forced to change to a site over a hundred miles away, because that's the nearest one they could quickly think of."

"Now, wand out and pointed outward in defensive posture. I want you to fix your focus on the other side of the lake. You're going to land in a circle, a little farther apart than you are now, with Harry landing with his back to that big tree and four feet in front of it. Do you all have that fixed in your minds? Good, then as soon as you land, I want you to count to 20 and then disapparate to land in the same position that you started from behind Hagrid's hut the other day, then count to 30 and apparate to the spots you had at the main gate, don't worry the headmaster is making sure that the obstacle is being removed as I speak – but feel for it just to be safe, then quick as you can, right back to where you're standing now. Everyone got it? Then, on my mark, one, two, three, now!

I looked around and everyone was in formation around me as I apparated near the big tree across the pond. Harry smiled at me, as we counted. Then it was off to the Hagrid's hut. I made the jump easily and had just started my count for the jump to the main gate, when Draco shouted, "I don't see Pansy, what happened to Pansy?"

"I don't know," said Ron. "She's not too bright, maybe she forgot the instructions. We'll catch her at the main gate".

Draco was distraught enough, very unmanly I thought, that we assisted him in searching all around and inside Hagrid's hut, in case Pansy was splinched and injured, perhaps with the leg of Hagrid's stool stuck in her leg, or something equally gruesome. We didn't find Pansy and were quite late, when we agreed to resume our count at three.

We finished our count and apparated to the main gate. We were there and almost ready to disapparate from that spot, when Pansy apparated about a hundred feet along the wall from where she was supposed to be and high enough that she twisted her ankle as she fell to ground. She hobbled back to us, gave Draco a sheepish look, and prepared to join us for the final hop. We restarted our count and apparated back to the tomb.

"Poor show – you're very late, guys," Bill chastised us.

We had only been there half a minute and were still feeling a little queasy, when a pair of Death Eaters apparated to our side. At the sound of the pops on their arrival, we turned and pointed our wands in their direction, shouting 'protego' and diving for cover as we saw what we faced. Harry had been facing in their direction and was the first to raise a defensive spell.

"Protego", yelled Harry, before the duo returned "Petrificus Totallis".

Bill was firing his own curses from atop the tomb, as the Death Eaters ran forward, trying to seize Draco. One grabbed Draco just as I felled him with a bat-bogie jinx, while Ron and Hermione hit him with "Petrificus Totalis".

The second Death Eater shouted "Protego", and then fired a cruciatus curse at Bill, knocking him from the tomb. "Crucio" he shouted, missing Ron, who had disapparated to a spot over his head. Ron was about to fire a curse down at him, as the Death Eater disapparated and did not return.

Hermione and I ran to check on Bill, while Harry and Ron disarmed the fallen Death Eater and wrapped him in magical ropes that exuded from the ends of their wands. "Bill's going to be okay," shouted a relieved Hermione, as she walked back around the tomb to see how the rest of us were doing.

Luna reached down to pull the mask off the captured Death Eater, revealing none other than Lucius Malfoy. "Dad", exclaimed Draco in mock (?) shock, why are you trying to kidnap me?"

Lucius was quite unable to answer.

"Ron", apparate back to the castle and get Madam Pomphrey to help Bill, and get McGonagall too," Harry directed.

"No, don't", said Hermione, "Bill says the window for apparating closed a few minutes after we returned here to the tomb. Ron will have to run back to the castle". With that, my obedient brother was on his way.

Draco, who was just recovering from the post-apparation queasiness and a glancing hit from a stunning curse, was just staring down at his father. And then, one of the greatest sights in my life, other than Harry of course, Draco turned a little greener and puked all over his Dad. Lucius was unable to move a muscle. Hermione drew her wand and cleaned off his nose and mouth, just enough that he could still breathe, as many a giggle was heard from our circle.

A faint "Oops!" crossed Draco's lips as he turned away from Lucius.

A very winded Ron soon returned with Professors Flitwick and Slughorn. "We're going to have to carry Bill to the infirmary," said Ron. "A third Death Eater entered the castle and attacked Mr. Filch, before escaping. Madam Pomphrey and Professor McGonagall are with Mr. Filch. He was petrified and hurt himself when he fell and the Death Eater stepped on him."

The school's magical protections must have been dropped again temporarily, because we heard a series of loud pops and turned around to find Minister Shacklebolt approaching surrounded by a dozen aurors. "So, Lucius," said the Minister, addressing the inert package at our feet, "it appears we have caught up with you. You're in line to be the second resident of Azkhaban. Your Death Eater activities during the war, torturing innocent Wizards at your estate, and now attacking Hogwarts and assaulting a Ministry Auror will not be ignored. You've sealed your own fate. If whoever petrified him will lift the curse, we'll transport him back to the Ministry for questioning." Ron and Hermione removed their curses, while I volunteered that he was also suffering from a bat-bogie jinx.

"You know I'm not a Death Eater anymore," stated Lucius as if this were a self-evident fact that we would all have to believe, "I just wanted to get my son back and rescue him from this snare into which my dear wife delivered him. It was a wise move, and I don't regret it. Security at Hogwarts is laughably lax, and Draco probably wouldn't have lasted another week here. A father has a right to protect his son. Narcissa had no right to place him here."

"Ah, I've heard that one before. Now that Voldemort is dead and your marks are starting to fade, all of you Death Eaters are automatically former-Death Eaters. I for one will never accept that weak excuse. Well, I think you'll find that this is a lot more serious than a domestic dispute", replied the Minister, "you were atop our most dangerous fugitives list, and will be treated as such. Take him away, lads. As for the rest of you, I want to speak to you in the headmaster's office."

Harry and I kept our wands ready, and a wary eye and often our wands, on Pansy and Draco, as the Minister directed the group back to the castle. The aurors seemed a little concerned that Harry and I had our wands at the ready in the Minister's presence, but the Minister noticed the aurors approaching us and waved them away.


	24. Chapter 24

**Chapter Twenty-Four – Some Answers and a New Assignment**

McGonagall was waiting in her office when our group arrived. "Welcome Minister, I wish you were arriving under more favorable circumstances."

"Indeed," replied the Minister, "in perhaps the first time I've agreed with Lucius Malfoy, I think he is correct when he says that your security is dreadful. I'm going to insist that you cease lowering the protections for apparating instruction and I'm also going to leave three additional aurors here at the school. I would have expected that with the faculty, the restored magical protections, and three aurors, that Hogwarts would be safe. I'm disappointed."

"If you want my resignation, you shall have it," McGonagall answered him frostily.

"No, woman, I'm upset, and I'm letting off steam. We've fought on the same side for a long time, and you are the person that I want running Hogwarts, but I do expect better security."

"I promise you that you'll have it, and without giving me three more aurors, which we both know you can't spare," replied a still defiant McGonagall.

"We'll settle on one extra body," replied the Minister. "McCarran here is just dying to live in your infirmary for the next week or so. Off you go lad. Now, I want to know what just happened. First Mr. Bulstrode is sent back to the Ministry for illicit nocturnal wanderings, and now an assault on the school. By the way, Bulstrode and his granddaughter are being questioned at the Ministry, as we speak. Do we really want Draco and Pansy sitting in on this discussion?"

"I think that is the direction that we need to look for many of the answers you seek," replied McGonagall. Then, turning to Draco, she made the simple statement of fact, "I made an agreement with your mother that you could stay here under my protection. I'm sorry if that protection hasn't been quite up to the level that I promised Narcissa, but I feel that you and Pansy played a part in this security breach."

"I knew nothing about any of this," responded Draco," and I don't believe for an instant that we were attacked by Death Eaters. There aren't any Death Eaters who would help my father. He's hiding from them, because they'll kill him if they find him. I'm certain the other attackers were my father's estate manager and one of his men. I agreed with my mother to stay here, for her protection more than my own. I know that my father did not approve of the arrangement, but I chose to follow my mother's lead. Pansy can answer for herself."

"It should be noted," I said, with perhaps more boldness than was wise, "that Pansy went missing for several minutes during apparating class, just before the attack. She was supposed to apparate with us to Hagrid's hut, wait and then apparate to the main gate. She never made it to Hagrid's and was late and off target to the gate. She easily could have apparated off campus and contacted the attackers and still had time to meet us at the gate. I noticed that she wasn't firing back at the attackers and wasn't even ducking for cover. It just struck me as strange behavior."

"I swear that I didn't know of any attack. I did apparate off the school grounds, into Hogsmeade. I left a message for Millicent at The Three Broomsticks, like I told Mr. Bulstrode I would. She met me there and I handed her the message and came right back."

"That seems like a very complicated delivery system, Miss Parkinson," said McGonagall in a tone dripping with acid. "I would have expected an owl to do quite nicely for your social correspondence with your school chums."

"It had to be secret, I was afraid of an owl being intercepted and I didn't want to do anything that would harm Draco. Either his father or the Death Eaters could have intercepted an owl. I didn't want to do anything that would give Lucius any more of a hold over me. I wasn't going to do anything that could be used against Draco or his mother."

"I assume you realize how seriously the facts line up against you, Miss Parkinson," McGonagall said. "First Deputy Minister Umbridge arrives with a bar bill addressed to you and a vial of poison, then you return mysteriously from the train and want to stay at school, then Mr. Bulstrode leaves a note on your doorstep in the middle of the night, then you visit him in the middle of the night, you surreptitiously leave the school during apparating class at exactly the time that Mr. Malfoy and his Death Eater friends attack, and finally, as Miss Weasley has observed, you just stand there while the attack occurs".

"I promise, it's not nearly as bad as it looks," replied a very flustered Pansy, as she observed Draco staring at her with concern and distrust. "I'm willing to tell you everything I know. I explained about the bar bill on graduation day, and told you about the hold that Lucius has over me and how he would do anything to break up Draco and me. He is determined to marry Draco to that awful Montaigne girl…. You remember what I told you. I give you all permission to view my memories that you locked in your desk."

"Very well, Miss Parkinson," said McGonagall unlocking her desk and removing a small vial containing a silvery fluid. "If you would be so good as to get the Pensieve out of its cabinet, Harry."

We all viewed the memories. I was a little taken aback by the Slytherin House intrigue orchestrated by Lucius Malfoy, but not nearly as affected as Draco. He was positively seething. "I was willing to forgive my father a lot," he stated, "but this is too horrible to bear. I'm an adult and I'll run my own life. I want nothing to do with my father. I'm not sure about you either, Pansy. I don't understand how you could spy on me all these years. You say you loved me, but you didn't trust me with the truth."

"Even if I accept that all of what I just saw is true, and I tend to trust it," said the Minister, "that is far from the whole story. Why did you return from the train? Why was Bulstrode communicating with you? What was in the coded messages from Umbridge and Bulstrode and why would they want to communicate with you? What was in the message you sent to Miss Bulstrode? Why is she even involved in this? Why did you not defend yourself during the attack? It certainly makes it seem as if you were expecting an attack and knew the attacker wouldn't harm you."

"During the attack, I just froze. I wasn't expecting it at all. Millicent is my best girl friend. The last thing I would want is for Mr. Malfoy to grab Draco. I can't believe Millicent would want it either. She can't stand Lucius any more than I can. He was never nice and always tried to dominate us and didn't disguise how much he looked down on us."

"But you spent a summer at the Draco's estate, and so did Millicent," responded McGonagall.

"That was at the invitation of Draco's mother, and that was years ago, between our second and third years, at a time when Lucius was hardly home and didn't appear to be involved with the Death Eaters. I didn't believe Voldemort was alive. Draco's mother was always friendly toward us and was happy that I was Draco's girlfriend. I don't know anything about messages from Umbridge or Millicent. I never received them and I didn't miss them, because I wasn't expecting them. I really can't believe Millicent was working with Lucius Malfoy. I'm certainly willing to tell you what was in my message to Millicent, it's neither long, nor anything that you should be concerned about. It's coded more out of habit and because I was feeling creepy about everything that was going on. I wrote it with my wand, so I can easily reproduce the uncoded version, if you give me a piece of paper."

McGonagall passed a sheet of blank paper across her desk, and Pansy tapped it with her wand. We all stared at the message that appeared.

_M,_

_Mr. Bulstrode said he had a message from you to me. It was misdelivered and he has been persistent to the point of drawing extreme attention to Draco, me, and himself. Draco and I are fine and McGonagall is keeping to her part of the bargain with Mrs. Malfoy. We are being treated well and attending class. There is a creepy ghost-like thing in Slytherin that is a little scary. In fact, so scary that I drew further undo attention to myself begging to bunk in with the Gryffindors. If you are contacting me for Mrs. Malfoy, all is fine and there is nothing she needs to do. Draco has had no word from his father and seems content with his mother's plan. Draco and I are getting along wonderfully. I'm not sure how long I will stay, but this has been a great vacation and I feel much closer to Draco and less in dread that his father will pair him up with that awful Montaigne girl. Bulstrode has already been sent away. I fear that McGonagall is within an inch of chucking me out, and not because she believes Mr. Bulstrode was doing the dirty old man thing with me. I have to remain here to help Draco and to keep him away from the Montaigne girl. Please, please, please don't contact me again, unless I send you an owl._

_Your best friend._

"That seems to corroborate most of your story," conceded McGonagall, "but it still doesn't explain why you got off the train in the first place. "

"Just as the train was about to pull away, Millicent came up to me and said I needed to stay with Draco. His mother was afraid he was in danger and wanted me with him. She said Mrs. Malfoy was afraid what Lucius might try to do. So I got off the train. I left the train so quickly that I didn't even bring all of my luggage with me."

"Very well," said McGonagall, "does anyone else have any questions for Pansy. Yes, Miss Weasley, you're certainly feeling very assertive today."

"Did you see Millicent talking to any of the Slytherin parents or students, before she asked you to leave the train? Was she anywhere near Mrs. Crabbe and the Goyles?"

"No, she wasn't anywhere near the other Slytherins, she had been in a compartment with Margaret Wright, Erin Device and a Ravenclaw first year. Professor Slughorn was in the compartment with them, and he spoke to Millicent before she came out and spoke to me. I was trying to enter their compartment, before I realized it was already full. The train started and I left so quickly that I left half my luggage in the aisle."

"I have one more question, or rather comment," I said.

"Yes Miss Weasley, please go ahead," said McGonagall, with a rather exasperated gesture.

{[caution] You're pushing pretty hard Ginny.}

"We've got the note from Umbridge and the note from Mr. Bulstrode," I stated. "I'm betting that you can decipher both of them with your wand."

There was a slight intake of breath, especially by the Minister.

"I'm certainly willing to try", replied Pansy.

The bar bill was laid on McGonagall's desk and as Pansy touched it with her wand, the writing was transformed. We all clustered around the desk, straining to be the first to read the note.

{Well played, I guess you showed them.}

_Pansy,_

_I have applied sufficient pressure upon Delores Umbridge to prevail upon her to deliver this note to you. Likewise I trust you would prefer that I not disclose our past arrangements to Draco. If I am correct in that assumption, then you will erase this message with your wand and give the rest of the message to Draco. He can use his wand to decrypt our family code._

_Lucius_

As we were oohing and aahing over this first message, Harry laid the Bulstrode message upon the desk, quickly pocketing the first message. Pansy obligingly tapped it with her wand. It too was instantly transformed.

_**P,**_

_**I need to speak to you and can't risk an owl. Mrs. Malfoy sent me an owl in which she said she expects Lucius to kidnap Draco from Hogwarts. She is convinced that Lucius has a way of communicating with Draco, likely a spy at Hogwarts. Whatever happens, you must prevent Draco from leaving Hogwarts or doing anything his father asks him to do. Tell Draco his mother is fine and that McGonagall has provided her with a safe place among friends. Tell him she loves him more than anything and that she wants you and Draco to be together. She says to tell Draco that she is trying to get some leverage to protect him from the Death Eaters. The Malfoys will never be able to get back into their good graces, but it may be possible to convince them that it is in their interest to leave you alone. Tell Draco that his estate manager is not to be trusted. That was the message from Narcissa. She has asked me to remain in Hogsmeade in case you can sneak out to talk. She may have further information for you to transmit to Draco. You are an obvious conduit, so avoid owls. If you come to Hogsmeade, don't linger. You are bound to be watched. The Draco's estate manager or some of his men will likely be nearby. I will stay at The Three Broomsticks. I will disguise myself with Polyjuice potion. Look for an old hag in crummy grey robes and too much rouge. I will have a flower hat. I can only stay 5 days. I don't have much Polyjuice.**_

_**Your M.**_

"Draco, I'd like you to decode the second half of the first message", said the Minister.

"I'd be happy to do it," replied Draco, "but I'd need my wand to do that. We all know the family code, so you could ask my mother to translate it for you."

"Thank you Draco and Pansy," concluded McGonagall, in a manner that suggested there should be no more questions, even though the next words out of her mouth were, "unless anyone else has further questions for you, I'm going to excuse you to go back to the Slytherin common room. I'm sure the two of you have a lot to discuss. Rest assured, I am not going to turn either of you out of this school. I'll see you at dinner."

"I really don't think it wise for Miss Parkinson to remain here under the circumstances," the Minister declared after the door had closed behind the Slytherins "but be that on your head. There is still one thing that troubles me, that we have yet to touch on, although I thought it best not to discuss it in front of the Slytherin students. Although I don't approve of the across the campus apparating practice under the present circumstances, the Hogwarts defenses should have allowed apparation within the walls, without permitting apparation across the walls."

"That is quite correct," replied McGonagall, "unless the defenses were completely lowered instead of modifying them for the class, the attackers should not have been able to enter the grounds. Miss Parkinson should not have been able to leave the grounds, either, although I wouldn't expect her to understand that."

"I adjusted the school's magical barriers personally, right before the class began," stated Bill. "I told Professor Slughorn exactly when to activate and then to deactivate the changes. The timing had to be precise, because I arranged with the headmaster to have an obstacle, actually several of Hagrid's larger animals, moved into position and then led away at a very precise time so that the students could experience what it felt like to try to apparate into an occupied space. The headmaster, Professor Slughorn and I worked out every detail. It should have worked. I know the defenses were reinstalled in a hurry. Perhaps they are not in perfect working order. I was quite sure I had made the changes correctly. I made the exact same changes prior to each lesson."

"I don't understand how you could have gotten it wrong, Bill," exclaimed the Minister, with some exasperation. "It should have been a simple matter for a smart lad like yourself. The magical protections are lowered each term for the Ministry apparation classes and exam."

"With all due respect," began McGonagall, "there is nothing at all simple about it. Hogwarts defenses are very old and very complex. It is one thing to lower the defenses just within the castle to permit the apparation exam to take place; it is quite a bit more difficult to lower the defenses for most of the grounds, while preserving the wall barriers in a way that an experienced apparator could not follow a steep vertical path over the walls. A ballistic trajectory from Hogsmeade would require quite fine tuning to prevent, while allowing the students to apparate twenty feet off the ground, as they did in some of the exercises. I'm afraid I should have thought of the profound difficulties, before authorizing those particular lessons. The staff simply didn't have the time to restore the defenses completely, in all their redundant complexity, and Bill is not expert in our design. The fault is mine."

"I think perhaps I should send you a squad of magical engineers to give the system a complete tune-up from top to bottom. There's an interesting young lad in that squad, whom I'd like you to meet."

"Um, I'll consider that, but for now, perhaps we should simply limit the scope of the apparating instruction, while we finish getting the rest of the school back…"

There was a knock on McGonagall's door and Professor Flitwick's head appeared in the opening. "Pardons for my interruption, headmistress, but I thought you would want to know. Mr. Filch has recovered and insisted on returning to his office to check things out. He says the only thing that was disturbed is that the entire collection of wands, which he collected after the Battle of Hogwarts, was stolen by the Death Eater who attacked him. He says his attacker was a tall, very heavy set man."

"Thank you, Professor," answered McGonagall, in a tone that said his presence was no longer required. Professor Flitwick took the hint and hastily departed, before any of us could question him.

"That makes a strange business even stranger," stated McGonagall. "Mr. Filch took an inventory of the wands for me and Harry also sorted through the box. There simply weren't any wands of any great significance in the box. Here's the inventory list, Minister."

"I think that concludes my business here," said the Minister. "I'm going to go see what my aurors have been able to learn from Mr. Malfoy and the Bulstrodes. By the way, the reason I sent an auror to the infirmary is that I think the time has come to take more forceful measures to awaken Delores Umbridge. I'm sure Madam Pomphrey believes it safest for Umbridge to allow her to gradually come around on her own. I think we're past that and Umbridge hasn't earned the gentle approach. It's a wholly necessary decision, but one I wanted on my head, rather than yours. Good bye, Minerva."

With that, the Minister and his bodyguard left the office.

"Harry, I'm sorry I didn't take your advice about excluding the Slytherins from the combat training, I could have avoided this difficulty."

"You were correct in assuming that they were not badly intentioned," conceded Harry, "although I can't dismiss the feeling that we'll be fighting against them one day soon and that including them in the training takes away any advantage that the training would give us."

McGonagall looked unhappy, but chose not to respond to this.

Ron did not let the comment pass and immediately challenged McGonagall. "I see that you don't like Harry's mention of an obvious problem, but we likely will fight those two Slytherins at some time. Draco already tried to kill me once. At least I view that as a very serious matter. I don't think Pansy should be here. Her presence goads Draco to act up. I don't think we should be protecting and training enemies as if they were our friends."

"I know that you've been opposed to my Draco project from the start," McGonagall told Ron, in what I think was a not very pleasant tone. "I never spoke to you of Draco's prank with the snake. I should have done so. I should have insisted that Draco apologize to you. I apologize now for not doing so at the time. I do not think the snake was anything more than a dangerous and horribly foolish prank gone bad, but I realize that is awful enough at a time when Draco needed to build your trust. Believe me, I have spoken very seriously to Draco about that incident. I spoke to him a second time after Molly voiced serious concerns and said it was unfair and unwise to expect her children to protect Draco. It is unfair, but I believe it is very important to the future of our whole community. Draco can be saved. I am absolutely determined to save him. I'm sorry that in not speaking to you earlier I appeared to not care about you feelings and your safety. Draco has promised to be on his best behavior. If the Draco and Pansy misbehave again, I promise to make alternate arrangements for their housing and protection. Is that acceptable?"

"Yeah, that's fine," Ron told her.

McGonagall seemed quite relieved. She had been furtively studying Harry's and Hermione's faces during this whole exchange. I thought they both conveyed solidarity with my brother, but with a desire to put the incident behind us.

McGonagall quickly changed topics. "I'll check later with Professor Slughorn to see if he remembers what transpired in the train compartment," said said, changing the topic, as much as clearing up loose ends. She seemed surprised when Hermione seized upon this new topic.

"I think," said Hermione, with a sense of some awkwardness, "that Professor Slughorn, himself, bears some closer examination. He is not the sort to miss a chance to include the Malfoys in his collection of powerful people. Their star has dimmed, but he probably still regards them as worthwhile resources. He was observed talking to Millicent in the train. He could well have been the one who gave her the message for Pansy. And now he's the one operating the school's defenses at the time they failed."

"I'll certainly consider that," McGonagall hastily replied, in a manner that said she just had given the idea all the consideration that she ever intended to give it.

"Now, then, with the end of both the apparating and the Parseltongue lessons, I think I'll move up the next assignment, that I had for you. I'm..."

"No!" Harry's shout stopped McGonagall.

"What's the matter, Harry?"

"While I'm happy that the Parseltongue lessons are over, I think we need more training in the advanced fighting while apparating techniques. It sounds as if you main interest was to train Draco. I'm pleased that Draco and Pansy will have no more lessons. It always seemed unsafe to train with them. I see no reason why no more lessons for Draco should mean no more lessons for us. That is totally unacceptable to me and makes me question your motives."

"I was about to say 'that isn't fair', but I guess I spoke too hurriedly and misspoke. Of course you should continue you lessons with Bill. I certainly want you to be as skilled as you possibly can be and I reluctantly accept your determination to stay several steps ahead of Draco. I don't see that as wise - you are both in danger, and not from each other. I doubt I am even able to cancel those lessons. The Minister wants you to have them and he ordered Bill to teach you. I admit it was my decision to add Draco and Pansy. I hoped it would make them feel at home and reduce tensions with your group. I'm sorry."

Harry told her that was alright. McGonagall quickly grabbed control of the discussion.

"I'm hoping you're willing to take a trip to Beauxbatons and Durmstrang, to check on the conditions there. The Minister has told me that he has reports that both of those schools were attacked by Voldemort's forces, supported by Giants. We don't have much more detail than that. The amount of interaction among the various Wizarding schools and communities is not nearly as large as it should be. In truth, we barely speak to each other and have difficulty hiding our mutual suspicion and disapproval. I'd like to send a fairly large delegation, for your own safety. Since Fleur is a Beauxbatons graduate, I've asked Bill and his wife to join you. Hagrid is also, um, friendly with the headmistress, so I've also asked him to travel with you. He'll be going on to visit the Giants at the end of the trip. He'll take Grawp with him. The Ministry is very interested in firming up the peace with the Giants. I'm told that Victor Krum is now headmaster at Durmstrang, since Karkaroff disappeared. I believe you and Victor used to be, umm, quite close friends, Hermione."

"I can assure you, headmaster, that Victor and I were NEVER, what you like to refer to as 'special friends'," Hermione interjected, in tones dripping with angry indignation.

"I'm quite sorry." McGonagall was first speechless and then completely taken aback. "I had no intention of implying anything other than you and Victor having met previously during the Triwizard Tournament. Now as.."

"I'm sure we all met Victor at that time, and I'll bet Harry spent more time with him than I did. You said we each needed to have a partner for the Triwizard Ball. Victor asked me and I went with him. I even spent part of that night with Harry and Ron. That's all there is to it," Hermione shot back, still red faced with indignation.

"Then, let's say I meant absolutely nothing at all," soothed McGonagall. "While I grant that you never had any particular feelings for Victor, l couldn't help but notice that Victor seemed very taken with you. I simply thought that Victor's memory of that ball might be enough to induce him to allow our delegation to visit what is a very secretive school, if you were a part of that delegation. I assure you, that I intended nothing more or less than that."

Ron had been glaring at McGonagall and now burst out truculently, "I'm not at all sure I approve of dangling Hermione out as a piece of cheese for Victor's delectation."

Hermione gave him an elbow and McGonagall looked more at a loss for what to say. "I'm not suggesting any such thing Ron, although I see that I've really stuck my foot in it. I'm trying to recompose myself and my thoughts to get back to what I wanted to say. I guess just this, anything that you can learn at the two schools will be a help. We really know very little about them, so I'm interested in more information than just the tactics, disposition of forces, and results of the battles. I'd like a better sense of how each of the schools functions. I was going to ask Professor Slughorn to accompany you but, given your doubts about him, I think I'll substitute Bill, the auror. This also might be a good time to travel to Australia to check up on Hermione's parents, while Hagrid is busy with the Giants. He can meet up with you for the trip back."

"When do you want us to leave," asked Harry.

"How does tomorrow afternoon suit you?" asked McGonagall.

"Too soon," I pounced instantly. "Harry and I still need to do more dueling practice as well as apparating practice and we still have loose ends to tie up. We have to get back to the Minister about helping with the election campaign, there will be the need for a press conference, and I have a NEWT exam in four days."

"You could always stay here, while the others travel, Miss Weasley," McGonagall shot back.

"No way!" declared Harry abruptly, "Ginny goes, or we all stay here."

"I see I'm outnumbered," McGonagall backed off. "Would it give you all enough time to clear up your loose ends if you left the afternoon following Ginny's morning NEWT exam?"

"That'll be fine," replied Hermione. "There's nothing holding us here, beyond that time".

"Let's not mention this to anyone else," said McGonagall. "We'll let the Slytherins and the rest of the staff miss you after you're gone. Does that settle everything, then?"

I sat forward and was about to ask about the prophecies, but Hermione spoke quicker. "Actually, there is something else. You promised not to keep secrets from us, and part of the reason you thought we should all stay at Hogwarts was that you knew of prophecies involving Ginny and me. I think we deserve to know the detail of those prophecies".

"Indeed you do, and I've been remiss in not giving you that information before now. I plead press of business, during these past very hectic days. The prophecies actually come from Professor Trelawney, so perhaps it's best that the two of us speak to you together. I know of the prophecies, because I saw Trew go into a trance, and heard her speak the words aloud. I don't think either of us remembers the exact wording. Professor Trelawney didn't even know she had prophesied until I told her what I had heard her saying. Then she had a lingering mental vision – more of the form than of the individual words or substance. I'll take the four of you up to our apartment after dinner tonight, and I promise to reveal all that we know of the prophecies. Now have we covered everything? Well, thank you all for your time."

"McGonagall really pulled your chain," Harry said to Hermione, as we walked down the stairs.

"Well, first that was a prime example of Professor McGonagall at her bossiest, ordering us about like little kids. Second, she had no business suggesting something about my personal relationships which is simply untrue and has never been true. And third, although I wouldn't have said it, Ron was right. I don't appreciate being dangled out as female bait to manipulate Victor. I don't have feelings for him, but I do like and respect him, and it would be very unfair to lead him on, just so McGonagall can get him to do what she wants him to do."

"And I don't at all appreciate McGonagall talking like that about my girlfriend, as if I'm not even in the room," Ron said with great feeling.

"I agree McGonagall was way out of line," Harry replied, defensively, "and we do have to disabuse her of the notion that she can just order us around on dangerous tasks at a time and place of her choosing, but she was already reeling from the Minister laying into her, in front of us. That had to be humiliating for her. She even offered her resignation. I guess, I'm just saying there was no way we were leaving tomorrow afternoon, but I might have picked a less emotional time to assert our independence. This pushed things pretty close to the breaking point. I think it's okay though, nothing's broken, and I think she very definitely got our message."

We walked a while in silence.

"I don't want to take Dumbledore's wand with me, or leave it here at Hogwarts," Harry mused as we entered the Gryffindor common room. We'll have to stash it somewhere before we leave for the Continent. I think we should do it tomorrow. I need to send owls to Margaret, Fleur and Seamus. And Ron, it would help us a lot if you could acquire a supply of potions to take with us. I think Polyjuice, Veritaserum, and Felix Felicitus might come in handy."

Harry set to work on his messages. He attached them to the owls, and I helped him carry them up to the owl tower, where we launched them on their journeys. As we stood alone at the top of the tower, and watched the owls begin their flight, I couldn't help asking, "Do you think McGonagall was trying to break up Ron and Hermione? I'm surprised Ron took it as well as he did, although Hermione handled it very adroitly and Ron has been more relaxed and confident, lately. Still, I wonder if she's going to try to break us up, next."

"I think you're over-reacting," Harry began thoughtfully. "McGonagall was upset before she began that discussion, so she wasn't at her best. I think she is still feeling a bit awkward around us. She seems very uncomfortable talking about any sort of relationship. She doesn't even know what words she should choose. I'm not sure what she would say if she was talking to someone her own age, like your Mom. If it will make you feel better, think of McGonagall as a very well educated Witch, but the last of the Victorians."


	25. Chapter 25

**Chapter Twenty-Five – Kreacher Featured**

Back in the common room, I realized how easily we had become swept up in the somewhat plausible explanations offered by Pansy and McGonagall. Something had been stirring and worrying at the back of my mind and now it exploded as a fully formed thought. "We've been had! A lot of that explanation back in McGonagall's office really makes no sense at all.

"We know that the notes to Pansy were intercepted, so how does Pansy know that Millicent will be waiting for her at The Three Broomsticks? If Millicent is in this elaborate disguise, how does Pansy recognize her almost immediately, give her a note, and just pop back to Hogwarts? Why even leave a note, rather than just speaking to Millicent? Even if Igor is present and spots Pansy, he barely has time to apparate to fetch Lucius and pop back to Hogwarts while the shields are still down. And why would he know that our apparating class was going to end at Dumbledore's tomb, unless Pansy or somebody else told him? Nobody, except for Bill of course, even knew we would be at Dumbledore's tomb until about twenty minutes before we were actually there. The attack on Filch was definitely planned and the goal was definitely the wands he was holding. This wasn't some quaint aberration as McGonagall would have us all believe."

"I've been bothered, as well," Hermione confided. "This was a well-plotted two-pronged attack. I doubt even Lucius is clever enough to pull all of that together in five minutes. Ginny is right to smell a rat. I don't have an answer to any of her questions, but I'm definitely going to be thinking about them."

"So am I," Harry declared. "I wonder if Shacklebolt bought that explanation. If anyone had time to plan the attack and to coordinate with the outside attackers, it was his man Bill. I'm not sure how much we should trust him."

"Don't pick on Bill, I'm starting to like him," Luna protested. "Besides, Slughorn also knew our schedule."

"Perhaps," Harry barely conceded. "However, as I was about to say, before Ginny had her brilliant insight, I think we need to pay a visit to Mrs. Malfoy, before going abroad. She might even be able to explain her husband's actions. She can at least decipher the Umbridge note. I took the liberty of taking the note from McGonagall's desk. I think she noticed, but she was in too guilty a mood to call me on it."

"I think you should summon Kreacher now," agreed Ron.

"Is it possible with the rejiggered Hogwarts defenses?" asked Hermione.

"Only one way to find out," replied Harry. He pulled out his wand, mumbled some words that I couldn't quite make out and, before I knew it, there was a loud bang and Kreacher was standing in front of Harry.

"Hello, Kreacher," said Harry in a pleasant tone. "I just thought it was time to check in with you and see how you and Narcissa Malfoy are getting along."

"Kreacher like Narcissa, master," the Elf replied, "happy, happy home. Kreacher take very good care of Narcissa. We old friends from when she was child".

"That's good Kreacher," replied Harry. "I knew I could trust you to take good care of her. The Death Eaters are trying to kill Narcissa and her son, Draco. Draco's father and two other men tried to kidnap him from Hogwarts today. He's safe, but it was a very close thing. Lucius Malfoy was captured and is being held by the aurors. Now this is very important, Kreacher. You must not allow Narcissa to leave the house or to have any visitors that may alert watchers that someone is hiding in the house. The house is supposed to be vacant, with me at Hogwarts. She is in great danger if anybody learns that she is living at Grimmauld Place, and she wouldn't survive for an hour outside the house. Do you understand?"

"Yes, master," replied Kreacher, "I will make sure my mistress stays in the house and I will tell anyone who comes to the door that the house is empty."

"Very good, Kreacher," Harry continued, "Now, I have to ask you, has anyone visited the house since Narcissa arrived?"

"Only Millicent Bulstrode and Margaret Wright," replied Kreacher, "they are friends of my mistress."

"I still don't think it's safe," replied Harry. "They're very young students, who don't know how to apparate. It would be very easy for a Death Eater to follow them. Has Narcissa left the house or sent any owls?"

"Mistress says it is unsafe to leave the house," replied Kreacher. "Kreacher send messages for mistress. Nobody can follow Kreacher."

"I'm relieved to hear that," replied Harry. "It sounds as though you are doing a very good job.

"There is just one more thing. We have an important coded message that was sent to Draco, but his wand is missing and he can't decode it. We need to visit Narcissa and ask her to decode the message. Can you transport us there?"

"Kreacher can take three," he replied.

"Ron and Hermione, let's go," Harry said.

{[regret] Sorry, Ginny, your mother would kill me and I really need both Ron and Hermione.}

"I understand," I said, with what I hope sounded like very good grace.

Harry, Ron, and Hermione linked arms with Kreacher, and in an instant they were gone. I was left to sit around, chatting with George about McGonagall and how hard it was to stay behind and wait, and whether I was unreasonable to be at least a little bit worried, and whether George thought I handled situations like this maturely.

George was as reassuring as could be, saying that given as much soldiering as McGonagall had done, in other ways she had led a very sheltered life and she was a lot older than Mom and therefore more out of touch and needed to be cut a little slack. He said I was right to recognize that I couldn't be with Harry all the time. "Look at Mom, and how often Dad goes off and does dangerous or just long and boring things without her. She's got her clock, but she basically has had to learn to cope with her fears and to find things to fill her own time. However much you're with Harry now, and it won't work if you try to make it all the time, you are going to have to learn to cope with separations and worries, just as Mom has. But I think you've handled things really well so far. Especially for a sixth year."

I really appreciated George's counsel, but I couldn't help wishing that Mom had been here. George and I worked on some light packing for our trip. I felt a little guilty afterwards, but I mentioned to George that I really hoped Harry's note to Margaret didn't compromise anything, given what we had just learned of her relationship with Narcissa Malfoy.

It was almost dinner time when Harry, Ron, and Hermione returned. Mom and Neville had returned to the common room a little ahead of them, but they were unaware of the trip that the three of them, well four counting Kreacher, had returned from.

"What happened?" George and I said in unison.

"There was nobody but Narcissa in the house," Harry reported. "She willingly translated the note. I placed it on the table and she tapped it with her wand, without even hesitating, there wasn't even a passing thought of not cooperating.

"We described today's events to her, and assured her that Draco was safe. She gave us a note for him, coded to Pansy's wand. That woman certainly seems to have a network of friends among the Slytherin girls. She seemed truly grateful to me for letting her stay at the house and giving her the use of her old friend Kreacher. She admitted to meeting with Millicent and Margaret, but said she was desperate to keep Lucius from getting hold of her son. She was not willing to reveal what 'leverage' she was planning to acquire to protect Draco. She was neither happy nor surprised about the content of the Umbridge note."

Harry placed the note on the table.

Draco,

You are not safe at Hogwarts. Escape at your earliest opportunity. Your mother is wrong to trust Professor McGonagall. She is a Dumbledore supporter through and through, and she knows that you attacked Dumbledore and that you are a Death Eater. Even if she intended to, I don't think she could protect you from the Death Eaters. I'd like to help your mother, as well as you, but I don't know where to find her. You know as well as I that your mother is unable to protect herself, and will perish without our support. Let me know if she contacts you and try to learn her location. Whatever you do, don't listen to her or let her suck you into her delusions.

Igor, our estate manager, will be at The Three Broomsticks for the next week. I'm sorry, but I can't risk longer. He will bring you to me. You know that you can trust him, and me. The best hope for our family is to hide out in the Muggle world for the time being. I know that world as well as any Wizard, and I have had time to prepare excellent hiding places.

Reply by owl to Umbridge at her home. She is not truly to be trusted, but I think she is too frightened to betray me. She is unable to penetrate the family code. I hid Voldemort's wand in a suit of armor near the Room of Requirement. You should recover it and bring it with you, when you meet Igor. That wand is one of the few things I can think of to give us some leverage with the remaining Death Eaters. If you can also steal the Elder Wand from Potter, so much the better. Those two wands, as well as Potter's own and your old wand may have great value to us. Now is not the time for you to go soft on me.

Your Loving Father, L

P.S. I have no choice but to ask Umbridge to deliver this note through Pansy. I'm sure you are being watched very closely. I don't trust Pansy, and you shouldn't either.

"What a nice, loving family", declared Ron.

Despite all the history that McGonagall had given in her lecture, I realized that with that terse summary, my brother had correctly captured the greatest difference between the Malfoy and Weasley families. This gave me a big smile as we trudged off to dinner. The Weasleys most definitely were one of the great Wizarding families. I didn't need great deeds, wealth, or heroism in the past to feel great about my family. It was just a very warm, comfortable place to be, and I knew that those I respected most, like Harry and Hermione, were eager to be a part of that family. I was very happy to finally have Harry, but under no illusion that he did not desire my family as much as he desired me. I realized that, like Harry, Draco had been a stranger to familial warmth. I was right where I wanted to be. I walked over to Mom and gave her such a big hug, that she looked at me in puzzlement. "That's just for being you", I said before we rejoined the others, and went down to dinner.


	26. Chapter 26

**Chapter Twenty-Six– Ensnared By Prophecy?**

When we were about to take our seats in the Great Hall, McGonagall approached Harry and asked if she could have a word with him. She guided him over to a vacant corner of the room and they talked for perhaps five minutes, with McGonagall doing most of the talking. The meeting ended with Harry nodding yes, and seeming to briefly put a comforting hand on McGonagall's forearm. They turned and strode back to their places at the table, with nary a hint in word or manner about the content of their discussion. I felt proud of myself for exercising enough self control not to reach out for Harry's thigh and a reading on his mood, and perhaps an explanation of what had transpired.

Dinner smelled good, but I, at least, ate very mechanically with my mind focused upon the meeting that had just occurred and the more personally important meeting that awaited after dinner. One difference in this dinner, which gave a foreshadowing of the meeting to come, was that McGonagall and Trelawney were seated side by side and spent most of the dinner chatting with each other, as if the rest of us did not exist. After dinner, we lingered until Draco and Pansy had left for the Slytherin common room.

McGonagall begged her leave of the others, and asked the four of us to follow her. When we reached the third floor, she and Trelawney led us through the hallway on the right, one that I had never seen before. Harry touched my hand {[excited] This is the corridor that had a trapdoor to the chamber where the Sorcerer's Stone was hidden during my first year. I've never explored this whole corridor.}

We went through a couple doors and then turned left to face a blank wall. McGonagall tapped the wall at a point a few feet to the right of a glass case that housed the stuffed carcass of a very improbable-looking five-foot long lizard. The wall split, revealing a staircase leading up to a higher level.

We ascended the narrow spiral stairs, climbing perhaps fifteen feet, to have our path blocked by a very ancient-looking dark wooden door. The door, and indeed the entire stairway, was lit by glowing crystal globes that produced a soft glow as McGonagall approached them. McGonagall extracted a very large antique brass key from her robes and used it to unlock the door. The key had a round almost handle at the end of the shaft to help the user turn it. The business end was also unusual with three prongs. The two end prongs curved outward, quite a distance beyond the body of the business end. The center prong was divided into three smaller prongs, like a W. The key turned easily in the lock and the door seemed to spring slightly opened. She pushed against it and it seemed to move very easily into the room. She led us through a short and narrow entry hall, into a good-sized and very comfortable looking sitting room. The room was pleasantly lit by glowing crystal globes in the four ceiling corners and a blazing fire in a large fireplace in the middle of the long wall directly ahead of us. The room was about fifteen by twenty feet, with a window on the shorter side wall to our left. The walls and floor were roughly finished stone, but the effect was softened by rich crimson curtains at the window and a thick woven blue woolen rug that covered about half of the floor. We approached a semi-circle of chairs in front of the fireplace and noticed the rich wooden mantle and shining brass fireplace pieces and screen. It was a pleasant effect, and the room was warm in both temperature and emotion. I noticed that there were exactly six chairs in the semi-circle, and no other chairs in the room. The chairs were arranged two on the right and four on the left, with a low table in between. It was quite clear where we were intended to sit, so that's where we sat, Ron, Hermione, Harry, and me, moving out from the fireplace. Since Trelawney sat closest to the fireplace, I was left with just the short table between McGonagall and myself.

"Welcome to our apartment," said Professor Trelawney pleasantly. "You are the first students to enter this room. Professor McGonagall and I have lived here together ever since Umbridge threw me out of my own apartment. It has been such an eminently agreeable arrangement that we continued it after Umbridge departed".

"May I offer you some sherry," chimed in McGonagall, raising her wand and causing a tray of large, and well-filled sherry glasses to levitate from atop a small cupboard against one of the side walls, and float across the room to the table between McGonagall and myself. McGonagall picked up a glass and passed it to Professor Trelawney, and then taking a glass for herself. I did the same, passing three glasses down the line and keeping the final one for myself.

As we sipped our sherry, McGonagall began to speak, "Prophecies are very tricky things. They are seldom completely precise and accurate, but I have never known one from as gifted a seer as Professor Trelawney to be completely lacking in value. While I would never ignore a prophecy, and would certainly devote significant effort to trying to understand any that related to me, neither would I allow such a prophecy to take hold of my life. In my experience, even the best prophecies, like the Harry/Neville/Voldemort prophecy, which as you know also derives from Professor Trelawney, are ambiguous. That prophecy could have applied equally to Neville as to Harry. It is how Voldemort and then Dumbledore reacted to that prophecy that drove it to its conclusion, and made it as important as it became. One could argue that had Voldemort simply ignored that prophecy and walked away from it that he might still be alive and ruling over all of us, while Harry and Neville would be anonymous students looking forward to their graduation in a week. So prophecies can have a powerful impact on lives, but not because they are inherently immutable. Their impact is altered by how we choose to react to them. I hope you will not choose to over-react. Professor Trelawney…"

"These prophecies came to me at the start of this past term. Like the prophecy dealing with Harry and Voldemort, I had no knowledge of these two until the headmaster told me that on those two evenings I had fallen into a trance as I sat here by the fire, and suddenly started to speak in a voice that was much deeper than my normal voice. She was shocked enough when I started speaking that she doesn't think she was able to jot down all the words exactly, but I'll tell you what she wrote.

"When Muggle blood mixes with the pure-blood, red-headed clan, two cousins shall lead the magical folk to new heights, and two Great Families shall be reborn. Many dangers must be overcome for them to be born and they shall surely face hazards as great as their parents and their magical parents' parents. Only the Slayer of the Dark One can guard their birth and only the Conqueror of the Giant Snake can guard their lives, for if one shall die or not be born, surely we all must perish. They cannot be born unless the Slayer of the Dark One finds and conquers the underground mountain."

"That's as close as we could get to capturing the original. I think it has the full gist, if not all the poetic subtlety of the original. That last bit may well have been 'surely THEY must all perish", but Minerva doesn't think so. That first line might have been 'two BROTHERS', but again, Minerva doesn't think so. The last phrase might be 'underground fountain', but again, I don't think so. Until Ron and Hermione started getting along much better together, we couldn't be sure that this applied to them. We're still not fully sure. It is always difficult to decide whether or not a prophecy should be passed on to its likely subject. I still wish Minerva hadn't raised the issue so prematurely.

"The second prophecy seems a little clearer on its face, and Minerva was less startled by my speech, so she thinks she got it down exactly, but one can never be absolutely certain."

Professor McGonagall read her transcription of the second prophecy. "Muggle and pure born Witches shall teach the Slayer of the Dark to use the Ancient Mysteries, so the children of the Slayer can lead the magical creatures to the Golden Age. The circle will protect them at the time of their greatest learning. One Witch shall be the Mother of the Future and shall carry a new magic. The wisdom of the other shall light her way.

"That's certainly a lot for you to think about. It seemed to us that these two prophecies were a matched set. I suggest you have another sherry." She flicked her wand and a large cut crystal decanter floated over to her. She handed the decanter to Professor Trelawney to start its circuit, which resulted in all of our glasses being refilled.

"I should also add that Professor Trelawney has had only five such vivid visions in her lifetime. The fifth is likely not for your ears. We shall continue to think on that. These visions come to her not as the spoken word, but as a brilliant illuminated manuscript, with the capitals exactly as I have pronounced them." As we sipped our sherry, she asked if we had any questions.

"When you met with Harry before dinner, were you discussing the wisdom of revealing these prophecies," I asked."

"No, Ginny, I was merely apologizing to Harry for how badly I had botched the earlier meeting and how clear it had become to me that Harry must lead your circle, while I must lead mine, but that coordination would be vital. You have all progressed beyond the point that I can or should order you about. I told Harry that I feared my awkwardness in talking to you and even Hermione could doom whatever chance for success we have on our shared mission. I offend without meaning to. I'm more suited to protecting the young than leading them as equals."

"I think you react to me as you do more because of the prophecies than because of my age," I ventured.

"It's both. I'm not quite sure how to treat a young Witch who is confronting danger at my behest and yet with whom I have an in loco parentis responsibility because, although you are taking on adult responsibilities, you are not yet an adult. It is tougher still when the one parent is the Deputy Minister of Magic and the other is a Professor on my staff. But you're right, that is the easy part compared to trying to figure out how to properly relate to a minor student who might possibly be the Mother of the Future. I'm not at all sure what was ethical to tell you of the prophecy and when you should be told. You present me with my own Harry/Dumbledore relationship quandary and that has always been my greatest nightmare, since I became the leader of both the Order and this school. They are two irreconcilable roles with conflicting moral responsibilities.

"It can be a terrible, terrible burden to hear a prophecy that does not belong to you. There are very ancient legends about the Mother of the Future. They date from the time when both the ancient pagan nature religion and the almost as ancient Light Guardian religion were both common among Witches and Wizards. Legend says that the Mother of the Future was to be the actual voice of all the Gods and Goddesses and that she would reunite all magical creatures and allow them to prosper. Legend can be very confusing. It also says that the Mother of the Future was already called to service and that this happened over three millennia ago. The legend does not seem to permit a second Mother, even a second one this greatly removed in time. So… you're are prophesied to become what legend says no Witch can ever become. It is as if the age of powerful Witches is long gone. It was a terrible burden for Trew and me to keep such a secret to ourselves. It seems very selfish to ease that burden by transferring it to you."

I wasn't ready to think too deeply on these prophecies and the bizarre future they set before me. Instead, I babbled, "Then you haven't been angry at me."

"Of course not, you've always been one of my favorite students. I like the Weasley feistiness and irreverence in a young Witch. I greatly admired what you did fighting the Carrows and I think you're good for Harry, but I'm just not fully comfortable around you. You have a very mature mind in a very young body, and you cause me to worry about going down Dumbledore's path. I've told myself that all will be fine if I can push you to the sidelines for a year and not have to endanger you. Instead, I've chosen to take the more cowardly way and hand that particular burden to Harry."

"So then, you tried to schedule the trip to Beauxbatons and Durmstrang at a time that you knew I had a NEWT, in order to protect me from danger?"

"Yes, I was feeling quite guilty about the dangers that you had already faced. I feel much more comfortable asking those of your circle who are over seventeen to undertake missions that may carry some risk. I realize that you and Harry want to protect each other, which is why I've chosen to leave these decisions in Harry's hands."

"I'm not buying the prophecies," Harry declared. "You don't even believe in divination, Professor, I've heard you scoff at it many times. I've seen Professor Trelawney look at the dregs of my tea cup and pronounce that I had The Grim and would be dead very shortly, but years later here I am, sitting with you."

"You're right, Harry, I don't believe in reading tea stains, or palms, or crystal balls, or the entrails of animals. But I do believe in Trew's prophecies, and for the same reason that Dumbledore did, because I have watched Trew, when she is in the grip of a prophecy, and seen the look on her face, and heard her voice. To experience that is to be disposed to believe in her prophecies. And then there is the prophecy of you and Voldemort."

"But, as you've said, Professor Trelawney didn't so much predict the future as precipitate it. She threw something out there that was too attractive to pass up, particularly for a lonely boy who grew up in an orphanage and joined a new Wizard world, where he was still an outsider. I well know the irresistible appeal of such a prophecy to a Muggle-born boy with a burning desire to prove himself special. Just being part of a prophecy makes one special and almost unique and that one was the stuff of heroic legend. I fell for it. It would have been irresistible to Voldemort – a path to be the best and to connect to somebody, even if that somebody was just a baby that he was told was inextricably linked to him in a kill or be-killed bond.

"You explained that to me days ago. There was no need for Voldemort to attack me. Even having done that and created a physical link between us, there was no need to kill me in a duel. Voldemort had me paralyzed and tied to his father's tombstone. He could easily have killed me, rather than give me a wand and a fighting chance. He could have ordered any of his followers to kill me. It's hard to read the prophecy as demanding personal action, and even if it did, once one of us was dead, the prophecy was clearly void. So, basically the prophecy became meaningful, because Voldemort was insane and it fed his megalomania to believe he was the subject of a great prophecy. I got involved because Dumbledore accepted the prophecy as true. Had Snape not overheard the prophecy, it's very doubtful it would have any more effect than those thousands of forgotten prophecies trapped in glass balls at the Ministry, or than the stains in my tea cup. Voldemort could have walked away from the grasp of the prophecy at any time, just by calling it crap. I was trapped because Voldemort and Dumbledore were driving the action."

"You used the word 'irresistable' twice. Such is the power of a particular sort of prophecy. You are free to ignore it – and yet, even at your great peril, you cannot ignore it. For those who believe in the power of prophecy, the answer is that all of the improbable circumstances you cite are proof of the prophecy reaching out to steer you back to your fate. I can't say I truly believe that," McGonagall countered him, "but I don't dismiss it out of hand, either. If the impact of a prophecy is through the true believers among those who hear it, perhaps we are best off limiting the audience for these prophecies. You yourself could have, as you say, called crap on your prophecy. You didn't have to face Voldemort alone at the end, unless you actually believed in the prophecy. And yet, against all reason, you did exactly that."

"Perhaps I did. I guess I used to believe I had a fate. I don't any more. I can decide. Even if I believed in these new prophecies, they have no meaning for me. I'm supposed to protect Ginny and Hermione. I'd do that if I'd never heard the prophecy. I'm going to protect my children. I'd do that too. Ginny and Hermione are very special Witches. I didn't need the prophecy to tell me that. So, for me, it doesn't matter. I'll do my best as protector. The prophecies say dire things happen to everyone, if I fail. That doesn't change anything - I can't do better than my best and I can't be more motivated than I am. I think your first inclination was correct, Professor. You should not have dropped the hints about those prophecies."

"I fear you're right," McGonagall replied, "but having gone this far, I am compelled to ask permission to do one more thing. The prophecies may also involve Professor Longbottom. I think he should be told".

"No," I said, with perhaps more force than I had intended. McGonagall gave me a look, so I elaborated. "That would be very unfair to Neville. He is already concerned about being a very young professor and not being able to command the respect of students a year younger than himself, who shared a common room with him this term. The last thing he needs is to hear the prophecies and realize that you made him a professor to make sure he is here at Hogwarts, to fulfill his part of a prophecy which may or may not apply to him. Neville deserves to know in his heart that he has the job because he is a very intelligent Wizard, who loves plants, will do really well teaching students about them, and because he is very brave and played a crucial role in saving the Wizarding world during the Battle of Hogwarts."

"I'll respect your judgment," McGonagall replied. "I hadn't fully considered the implications for Professor Longbottom. It's time for bed. I trust you can all find the way back to Gryffindor."

"I just want to satisfy one more curiosity," said Harry, pulling out the Marauders Map and spreading it on the stones in front of the fireplace. As he likely suspected, none of us appeared on the map.

"I'm not the least surprised to find that this room is uncharted," McGonagall commented. "Intrepid as the Marauders may have been, I doubt they knew the location of the staff's quarters. We do try to preserve at least a small modicum of individual privacy."

Harry felt compelled to mumble "sorry" before we headed out of the room and down the spiral staircase. I noticed, however, that he was not feeling sufficiently guilty to prevent him from carrying the open map down the stairs with him, in order to determine exactly when we reappeared on the map. We did not show up until we left the stairway and reentered the third floor corridor.

We returned to our common room and, although we continued the watch shifts, we had a sound night's sleep. With the departure of Mr. Bulstrode, there were no more nocturnal wanderings. Our second watch was amused, however, to observe that after spending a very long time in the Slytherin common room, Draco and Pansy did finally make their way to the same boys' bedroom. It would have been more comfortable for us to sleep in our dorm beds, but Mom had made it clear that we would not be permitted to copy the Slytherins', living arrangements. I preferred to share a floor with Harry. With that, I reached over and touched his chin, being rewarded by a rush of warm feelings, but also by the knowledge that Harry was actively worrying that I would allow the two prophecies to dominate my life. The word ENSNARED drifted over to me in vivid, red, capital letters. I didn't want Harry to think I was spying on his thoughts, but felt I needed to respond.

"I'm really alright, Harry. I live too much in the physical here-and-now to be bothered by that sort of rubbish."

"Well, if you're still awake enough to be interested in reading my thoughts let me give you some hard-earned wisdom: just as Dumbledore with me, Professor McGonagall is fully capable of both genuinely liking you and manipulating you for her own purposes. She is clumsier at the manipulation part than Dumbledore was, or perhaps the older me is just more capable of seeing manipulation directed at someone else. Happy as I am to see a break in your feud with Professor McGonagall, I don't believe anything has really changed. I had thought she was manipulating you to control me – and, I do realize how egotistical that makes me seem. The prophecies suggest that she has decided that you are the primary actor and worthy of manipulation for your own sake. I just see Dumbledore and me all over again. Please be careful."

It was hours before I could clear my mind enough to sleep.


	27. Chapter 27

**Chapter Twenty-Seven – Political Endorsements**

As we dressed in the morning, Hermione and I realized that we had come to the day for the Minister's official trip to Hogwarts and the deadline for delivering our final decision on our participation in the election campaign. I knew we'd caucus one last time, but couldn't believe the answer would be anything but yes. Hermione and I thought we would be able to spend a lot of time in the library. Luna said she had sent an owl to her father, so that he would be available to cover whatever press conference the Minister chose to hold with us. She thought he would arrive on the 10:00 A.M. train. The idea of Hermione and me camping out in the library struck Luna as a good opportunity to spend a day with her dad. We headed back to the common room to fill the boys in on the schedule. They were basically agreeable, although Harry wanted to allot an hour to dueling practice. He also suggested that since tomorrow was Sunday, that it would be a good day to visit Godric's Hollow and hide his wand. He said he hoped the rest of us would agree to participate, but that he had already requested, by owl, assistance from Margaret, Bill, and Seamus.

The only breakfast owl to land at our table brought my copy of the Daily Prophet. Unlike the prior days, McGonagall had the faculty at a separate table for a staff meeting. I was pleased to see that Mom got an owl, presumably a note from Dad. Owls also arrived for Professors Slughorn and McGonagall and for Bill the Auror. I averted my eyes from openly staring at the faculty and unfolded my Daily Prophet. The front page blared:

**LUCIUS MALFOY CAPTURED IN FAILED ATTACK ON HOGWARTS, TWO ASSOCIATES EVADE CAPTURE**

There was a large picture of Lucius, flanked by two aurors, as he was being ushered from a corridor into some room on the lower level of the Ministry of Magic. Draco appeared interested, so I lent him my paper.

We breakfasted on toast and jam, tea with lemon, and an interesting poached pear, laced with cinnamon and cloves. The chit chat was pleasant, largely because the Slytherins seemed to be making an effort to be friendly. They reported that they were still plagued by ghostly visitations, and were ready to welcome Professor Slughorn and the Bloody Baron to share Slytherin House with them, although they suspected the Baron to be a likelier ghost buster than Slughorn. McGonagall announced that she would station Hagrid in their common room "just in case, and to get to the bottom of this thing, once and for all."

Hermione suggested to Professor McGonagall, that with the other classes canceled, she might want to move up her next history lesson. We agreed upon Monday afternoon, right after lunch. Tuesday morning was my NEWT exam in divination, so the next several days' schedule was filling in.

The Slytherins decided that the day off and good weather made a great opportunity to picnic and play on the grounds. Draco had asked the Elves to provide a basket lunch and he and Pansy set off right after breakfast. The rest of us decided to assemble at the main gate at 9:45 to meet the train and greet Luna's father. Hermione announced that she would go to the library in the meantime. Ron said he'd rather take the opportunity to steal the potions that Harry was interested in and to use the Marauder's Map to make sure that the Slytherins' picnic was not a cover for mischief. Harry and I stole the hour for dueling practice. I was less surprised than I would have been a few days ago, when George announced that he would hang out with Luna until the train arrived.

Harry and I had a very good practice. We started slowly and I took great effort to convince him that he couldn't hurt me with the 'expelliarmus' charm. While not back to his former prowess, he succeeded in throwing my wand across the room on his third attempt. I decided to end the session on this high note, even though this brought us to the main gate by 9:30.

Xenophilius Lovegood was the only passenger to exit the train during its very brief stop at Hogsmeade. He was in excellent spirits and thrilled to see Luna again. I watched to see how Luna would introduce George, but she just included him in people her father would know from Bill's wedding and one of the students who would be returning for seventh year with us. Xenophilius remembered Ron, Hermione, and Harry from their adventures at his house during the past term. He recognized them as being responsible for freeing Luna from the Malfoys' dungeon. Harry quickly jumped in to say "it was mainly due to the heroic efforts of Dobby, a free Elf, who was killed during the escape."

Luna was equally fast to urge her father not to say anything untoward at dinner, "since Draco Malfoy is staying here at the school under Professor McGonagall's protection, and we all agreed to be nice to him." Xenophilius agreed to be polite and circumspect in what he said to or in front of "that odious child."

We couldn't tell Xenophilius when the Minister was due to arrive, so his schedule had to be flexible. Harry apparently decided that Xenophilius would enjoy a good mystery as well as a walk around to stretch his train-cramped legs and suggested, "I wonder if you could help us, Sir. Professor McGonagall has inadvertently handed us a mystery. It appears that Hogwarts originally had five Houses. What is now Gryffindor was Peverell and what was then Gryffindor is now lost without a trace. The only clue McGonagall could give us was that it was reportedly housed in the stables. It was the original House for the Muggle-born students. I was hoping you knew something about this or could help us find it."

"I do remember hearing a legend of a fifth House," he replied, "I can't say I heard anything mentioned about it being in the stables, but I know before they built the train line to Hogsmeade and the Montaigne lands, there was a large stables at Hogwarts. Back then, before I believe about 1840, the students all arrived and departed in horse-drawn carriages, unless their parents apparated with them into Hogsmeade. Some of the sixth and seventh year students were allowed to keep their own horses and carriages in the stables. I have a picture of the stables in my files at home, along with the rest of my collection of historic Hogwarts collectibles. It is a handy thing to have if you're in the newspaper business. I've used those old photos many a time to add interest to an article I've written."

"Remember Daddy," Luna chimed in, "you also have an old oil painting showing the stables, paddock, and entry gate at Hogwarts."

"My, so I do. You're half my brains, Luna. Yes, that painting is very old, a little before 1700, as best I could tell. All the first years were given advanced instruction in riding as part of the curriculum back then – bareback, saddle, and handling a carriage. I'll search the painting out for you, if you wish, although I imagine you could find something equally old in the school archives. My painting is nothing special, just a painting that a Hogwarts seventh year did for his mother, who happened to be a great-great-great ancestor of mine."

"Did you say the Montaigne estate is near Hogwarts?" gasped Harry, suddenly realizing the import of his polite chit chat.

"Near Hogwarts, my boy? Hogwarts and Hogsmeade are the heart of the Montaigne holdings. He is the school's landlord and the landlord for most of the shops and houses in Hogsmeade. Nowadays, that represents about half the value of his land holdings. He has a lumber mill about fifteen miles up the rail line from here. That's why British Rail still maintains the line that the Hogwarts Express uses. The Montaigne castle is another couple miles from the mill. If you were to fly your broom over that ridge about six miles north of Hogwarts, you could make out the mill and the castle. Montaigne owns almost all of the land between here and the castle, although, as I said, that land isn't worth a lot. Timber doesn't pay well and not much of the land is good for grazing."

"But I thought the Montaigne estate was in Scotland," Harry replied.

"Where do you think you're standing, Harry," was all Xenophilius replied.

This was definitely an object lesson about how much valuable information one can collect by simply politely chit chatting with one's elders and giving them a jumping off point to reminisce.

The rest of the morning was spent strolling around the land from the railway tracks to the main gate and about halfway up to the castle. Xenophilius was trying to locate the site of the stables from the proportions in the painting, which showed the edge of the castle, as well as the stable and entry gate.

"Of course, you really shouldn't trust that a student had learned any sense of proportion. A painting can't be taken as literal fact. I don't think my photograph of the stables showed much of its surroundings, and besides that was much more recent, perhaps from about 1870. The stables were finally torn down a little before 1900."

We tried to map the elevations in our minds in an effort to guess what mound or high area of the grass could be hiding the remnants of a long ago building. We identified three likely areas: the mound centered about fifty feet outside the present wall in the area where the attacker had hidden as we scouted on our brooms, an area centered thirty feet inside the gates adjacent to the point that the path currently took a dogleg to the left and a point another several hundred feet further along the path, on the right side of the path and perhaps a quarter mile immediately in front of the castle. We argued at length over which location was likeliest, and only succeeded in dismissing the site outside the walls.

As we sat down at the only long table to eat our lunch, I felt a great sense of relief that the Slytherins had voluntarily absented themselves. Luna appeared even happier than me, having been spared the possible need to intercede between her father and Draco. As a hot cauliflower soup with fresh-baked and still steaming-hot whole wheat rolls appeared in front of us, Professor McGonagall welcomed Mr. Lovegood and then announced that the Minister and his party would be arriving immediately after lunch and that we would meet with them in her office and then conduct a press conference on the entry steps. Rita Skeeter being in the Professor's bad graces because of the interviews she conducted with the students on the train, Xenophilius was to be the only press representative for this event.

"I suspect the Minister would prefer publicity in both papers, but he can hold his own press conference back at the Ministry. I don't think I could stomach the sight of that Witch today."

As lunch was drawing to a close, Harry announced "last chance gang, does anyone have a reason why we shouldn't help the Minister and Mr. Weasley with their election public relations?"

There were no objections, and Ron remarked "I can hardly not support Dad, can I?"

"Fine," Harry replied. "In that case, I know what answer to give the Minister. You all have about half an hour to think about why you favor the Shacklebolt/Weasley ticket so strongly. I'm sure Mr. Lovegood will want to pose that question to each of us."

"I certainly will, young man, that's what a good reporter does. Nobody wants to know that you support the Minister. They want to know why you support the Minister and what you are willing to do to help him get the Ministry turned around. I may even have some surprisingly difficult questions for some of you. You can't buy off the press with a free lunch."

After lunch, most of us followed McGonagall to her office. The Lovegoods said they would wait on the entry steps and asked if they could borrow the school or rather, as Harry referred to it, the Colin Creevey camera.

We were surprised to see four aurors loitering around the gargoyle, but somewhat less surprised to find Dad and the Minister waiting for us in Professor McGonagall's office. "You were at lunch and rather than disturb you, I didn't think you'd mind if we just let ourselves in," Minister Shacklebolt offered by way of greeting. He never explained how he got past the gargoyle.

The Minister got straight to the point, "Whom shall I look to for your official answer to our request for support."

"We'd all be very happy to support you," I replied. "Luna's Dad is here to cover a press conference and take photos, if you'd like us to do that."

"I'd very much like to do a press conference," the Minister replied. "It would also help if you were to visit the Ministry tomorrow for a meeting with Rita Skeeter."

"As it happens, we have an important project tomorrow," Harry replied. "Would it be possible for us to come to the Ministry on Tuesday afternoon, after Ginny finishes her NEWT exam?"

"That would be perfectly acceptable," Minister Shacklebolt replied. "It will give me a chance to show you around the Ministry on a working day, and to have a good dinner at a Muggle restaurant in London. Be sure to bring some appropriate Muggle clothes with you."

"Before we meet the press, even if it is only Luna's father, whom I assume will be reasonably friendly, it is important that you know the details of the platform upon which we intend to run. Let me run through the list. Some issues will be meaningful to you, while others probably won't. At the end, we can discuss the details and argue the rationale for those items that give you pause or are of special interest."

"First, we intend to grant freedom to the Elves and provide allocated seats in the government for the Elves, Goblins, Centaurs, and Giants, if they choose to participate. If they so choose, they'll have voting rights for those seats in future elections. Second, we propose to pursue a continuing dialogue with the Muggle Prime Minister. Third, we seek greater union with the Wizarding communities outside of England, including the exchange of formal representatives, negotiation of rules to govern our interactions, and formal exchange of students. Fourth, and this will be controversial here and elsewhere, we propose to temporarily disband Slytherin House, in an attempt to disrupt the creation of new Death Eaters. Fifth, we propose that all Wizards initially, and then all magical creatures, have the opportunity to vote for a greater number of the members of the Wizengamot. Sixth, we propose to reduce the tax rate by ten percent for Wizards earning less than the average income. Seventh, we propose subdivision of the Malfoy estate, which has already been seized, and seizure of any assets still held by proven Death Eaters. Eighth, we propose to redistrict the voting districts to represent the current population, thus giving more influence to the city Wizards. Ninth, we propose to sentence anyone with a Death Head mark to Azkaban, in perpetuity. Finally, we want to formally establish the independence of the Hogwarts headmaster and provide for election by the faculty for a renewable six year term of office. Also, we don't list them as numbered platform proposals, but we also state that we intend to officially ratify our rescission of Thicknesse's rules requiring compulsory attendance at Hogwarts, registration of Wizards, and discrimination against the Muggle-born. We haven't made these proposals public yet, I thought we'd roll them out at this press conference, if you are willing to endorse them."

"I don't like number nine," Harry replied. "Professor McGonagall is trying to rehabilitate Draco, and I believe her efforts are working. I'm not sure that Lucius can't be rehabilitated. I think you should let the Wizengamot handle cases individually, based on misdeeds committed and evidence of rehabilitation."

"That sounds fairer to me, too," Hermione replied.

"It's not something you can announce today," she added, "but I think you should also have a proposal to encourage invention and innovation by Wizards, and to more clearly lay out the terms of purchase and commerce between Wizards and Goblins."

"I'm certainly willing to consider that item," Shacklebolt replied. "I'm also willing to be less prescriptive about what sentences the Death Eaters receive. Most of them will spend a long time in Azkaban, in any case. I'm not sure you have considered all the implications of the proposal to temporarily disband Slytherin. What it means is that to implement it, the Slytherins will have to be divided among the other Houses. Most will likely go to Ravenclaw and Gryffindor."

"Perhaps then, it would be best for now, to keep that part of the platform a bit more general and simply promise to take action to stop Slytherin House from inculcating the Death Eater philosophy. One thing you might mention as a specific is to provide closer monitoring by the Head of House and requiring the Head of House for the next several years to not be a graduate of Slytherin. You might also want to eliminate the Slytherin Prefects until the current fifth and sixth year students have graduated," I suggested. "Not asking for automatic harsh punishment for the Death Eaters and allowing Slytherin to continue, under increased supervision, should make it easier to heal the rift with the Great Families."

"That makes sense. Are there any other questions?"

"I didn't even know that Wizards paid taxes," Harry responded. "I have a house left to me by Sirius and galleons left to me by my parents in a Gringotts vault. Should I have been paying taxes on these?"

"Umm," the Minister replied. "I see Hogwarts education is lacking in some areas. I'll see that you have some detailed information about taxes and budget when you visit the Ministry. For now, let me just say that Wizards are not taxed until they turn eighteen. Beginning that year and every year thereafter, they must pay taxes on All Hallow's Day for the prior year. You'll owe taxes for the first time just a few months from now. Basically, Wizards who operate a small farm or earn a salary or earn trading profits or collect rent must remit 30% of their income to the Ministry, either in kind or in galleons. Income earned in the Muggle world is taxed at 50%. Inheritances are also taxed at 30%, payable over a span of ten years, beginning after your twenty-fifth birthday. Booty and other spoils of conquest are taxed at 40%. In addition to that, parents pay ten galleons per year for each student that attends Hogwarts and ten galleons for any family member who spends longer than a week at St. Mungo's hospital. Both of these fees are waived or reduced for low income Wizards."

"I didn't realize," I asked the Minister "that all Wizards weren't allowed to vote for members of the Wizengamot."

"Yes. First of all, only those Wizards who pay taxes are currently allowed to vote. That excludes about 20% of Wizards and close to half of all Witches. Beyond that, the Wizengamot is structured so that close to 40% of its members are various honorables, who have the seat for life and are not elected. Some of these make sense, like former Ministers of Magic or the Hogwarts Headmaster, but others range from appointment by the Minister for especially meritorious achievement of some sort, or retired heads of departments, like the Department of Magical Law Enforcement or the Auror corps, or retired Deans of St. Mungo's, headmasters of Hogwarts, and lawyers who retire in good standing and have seemingly anything approaching a successful career."

"I'd certainly be happy to see that changed," Hermione emoted, "especially the disenfranchising of half of the Witches. That's awful and I didn't realize that occurred. Why is redistricting so important?"

"Because today the vote of a Wizard living in a city or its immediate surroundings, and that is about two thirds of all Wizards, counts half as much as the vote of a rural Wizard."

"With that discussion, are you able to support the platform?" Dad asked.

As everyone nodded their heads in agreement, Dad proposed that we go out to the Entry Hall and conduct the press conference. The Minister raised his hand to halt us and said, "Minerva, I'd also very much like to have your public endorsement."

"Um, yes, then I suppose you shall have it, Minister," she replied. "I assume that you are going to honor your commitment to my students and restore Hagrid's wand and rights, prior to the election. Harry mentioned that agreement to me, and I was very pleased. Justice is so important. I was so proud that Arthur supported Hagrid so strongly."

"Of course," Minister Shacklebolt spluttered. "When I make a promise, I stick to it."

"Good. Knowing you felt that way, I asked Hagrid to join us at the press conference for a little ceremony." She pulled a long, polished wooden box from her robes, opening it for the Minister, to display a wand, nestled in a red velvet lining.

"Is that a wand for Hagrid?" Minister Shacklebolt asked. "I didn't think Ollivander was able to supply wands at this time. Quite a few Witches and Wizards are missing wands after the battle."

"I am related to the Scottish wand-making family and they were kind enough to make this wand as a favor to me. You'll find them ready to step into the void created by Ollivander's problems, if you know of any other desperate cases. Come along, Hagrid is waiting for us."

I thought I detected a frown pass across the Minister's face as he followed McGonagall out of her office. This seemed a clear win for the headmaster and at least a minor inconvenience for Minister Shacklebolt.

We walked from the dim shade of the school, out into the bright sun of the entry steps, causing us all to squint a bit. Luna took a photograph at that exact moment. Hagrid was standing next to Xenophilius, looking a lot spiffier than I had ever seen him and sporting a huge smile.

"I understand that there is to be an official wand-presentation ceremony," Xenophilius announced. "If I could arrange you for maximum picture quality – perhaps Hagrid should kneel in the center, with the Minister on his right and the Deputy Minister and headmaster on his left. Since Harry was at least partly responsible for this happy event, perhaps he should stand next to the Minister. If the Minister will present the wand to Hagrid, I think that will make a very fine picture."

McGonagall opened the wooden box and handed it to the Minister, as she hurried to take her place for the picture. The Minister managed to produce a convincing smile, as he presented the wand and shook Hagrid's hand. He also decided that he should say a few words.

"It is important to correct old injustices. It is a Minister's great honor to right a past wrong. I think we all know that Hagrid was totally innocent of Myrtle's death and that he was wrongfully expelled from Hogwarts. At that time, his rightful wand was taken from him. It is a terrible thing for a Wizard to be unjustly stripped of his wand. It marks banishment from our tribe to a lesser status little better than Squib. Threatening students with a basilisk, killing Myrtle, and framing Hagrid were among Tom Riddle's first crimes on his path to becoming Voldemort. I am pleased to remove another trace of the extreme damage that Voldemort has inflicted upon our community. Congratulations Hagrid! You now have the full rights of an adult Wizard."

Luna snapped a close-up picture of the Minister. We then did a number of posed shots, some taken by Mr. Lovegood, so that Luna could appear in the photo. "I'm not sure which photographs I'll be using," Xenophilias pondered. "It may seem to bias my article to include my daughter in the photograph of those endorsing the Minister.

"Do you mind if I ask you all some questions, Minister Shacklebolt? I assume that's why you invited me here."

"Absolutely," the minister replied. I wonder if you would be so kind as to first permit me to explain the platform of proposals on which we plan to campaign?" He then proceeded to give a concise and clear description of the platform, including the revisions that we had suggested.

"That's very good," Mr. Lovegood responded. "That will certainly make for a meaty article, and a real scoop, but I still have questions for the students. I can catch you and Arthur at any time.

"Harry, why do you endorse these candidates and support their platform? I'm looking for just a general answer and perhaps your reasons, apart from the platform, for supporting these particular candidates, especially since we don't know who else may campaign for Minister."

"Yes, of course," Harry began to answer, "I certainly do endorse these candidates and they have been good enough to review the platform with us, and I find their proposals to be very acceptable.

"As to why I am so pleased to endorse them, I think you have to understand my history with past Ministers. I strongly believe that stopping Voldemort and his Death Eaters was by far the most important issue of my short lifetime, and past Ministers seemed all too willing to pretend Voldemort hadn't returned, and to persecute those of us who knew he was back and who were willing to stop him. A lot of my fellow students died this week at the Battle of Hogwarts, students on both sides of that fight, as a direct result of past Ministers ignoring their duty and failing to stop Voldemort before his forces became so strong that he could cause so much death and damage. Both Ministers Shacklebolt and Weasley bravely opposed Voldemort during that whole time.

"I know the persecution that students like Neville Longbottom, and Ginny Weasley, and Hermione Granger, and Cho Chang and I suffered for opposing Voldemort and insisting that he had returned and was building strength. I was tortured by Delores Umbridge. You can still see the scars on my hand. I know that far younger students were tortured by her and that she tried to use the Cruciatus curse on students. I know that the Carrows tortured students this year, far worse than we were tortured under Umbridge. I know how bad a situation can be created, when the Ministry takes overt control of Hogwarts."

"Do you feel that the platform discriminates against the interests of the Great Families, Harry?"

"No, I think it treats everyone fairly. I certainly have nothing against the Great Families. I'm the heir of Sirius Black and the last remaining descendant of the Peverells. I consider both the Blacks and the Peverells to be Great Families."

"The Great Families decline to count the Peverells among their own," Xenophilius corrected Harry, "but I take your larger point and the Peverells certainly were as great a family as any other – how I hate that name, 'Great Family'.

"I have another question for Harry. Do you think your endorsement as the Slayer of Voldemort and Hero of Hogwarts will carry special value?"

"I don't know. There were a lot of heroes in the Battle of Hogwarts. The statue commemorating that battle is a statue of Colin Creevey, a very brave student who died in the battle. A lot of students, down to second years like Margaret Wright, snuck back onto campus to fight. I certainly couldn't have killed Voldemort if Neville hadn't first slain Nagini, and if Ron and Hermione hadn't destroyed other Voldemort horcruxes. Of course, perhaps the greatest hero of the Battle of Hogwarts was Dumbledore, who died well before the battle, but who had laid all the groundwork for Voldemort's destruction. What you call the Battle of Hogwarts lasted a fraction of a day. The real battle lasted for years. Students like Ginny Weasley, Neville Longbottom, your daughter Luna, Michael Corner, and so many, many others that it was extremely foolish of me to start naming names - and some of the names I don't even know - fought against Voldemort and the Carrows last term, and at great personal expense. I doubt most of your readers have any idea how horrible things were here at Hogwarts under Umbridge and the Carrows. Parents send their children to Hogwarts to be educated, not to be tortured."

"I understand, Harry," Xenophilius acknowledged.

When questioned, Hermione waxed eloquent and emotional on the issue of freedom for the Elves, explaining how Dobby had died in our flight from the Malfoy dungeon and how he had thrived as a free Elf, performing kitchen duties for salary. She also spoke of the role of Kreacher and the kitchen Elves in the Battle of Hogwarts, and how the counterattack by the centaurs had been the initial turning point in the battle. She went on to explain what an effective divination teacher Firenze was.

The rest of us gave shorter but, I thought, equally good and heart-felt answers. I noticed that Xenophilias refrained from putting any questions to Luna.

Professor McGonagall was asked whether she also endorsed the Minister for election to a full term. She simply said "I technically might be regarded as an employee of the Minister, although I really answer to the trustees and not the Minister. Of course I respect the Minister and Deputy Minister because we all fought together against Voldemort and thus I can attest to their courage, dedication, and general intelligence. I was very pleased by the Minister's pledge not to interfere with the running of Hogwarts and plan to hold him to that. I'm looking forward with immense relief to Hogwarts once again existing as a safe haven dedicated to the education and comfort of every one of its students."

Kingsley had a strained look, as if he thought he had just received her endorsement, but that there might be some troubling wrinkles in there, somewhere.

After grilling the Minister and Dad for an additional half hour about details of the platform and something negative that the Daily Prophet had said about the seizure of the Malfoy estate, the press conference was finally at an end. That left us just under two hours of library research before dinner. Professor McGonagall had invited Xenophilias and the Minister to join us for dinner. The Minister and Dad regretted that they had to return to the Ministry, but Xenophilias said he would be delighted to have additional time to spend with Luna.

Hermione and I had planned to do more research on what Hermione referred to as telepathy and what I called 'Harry's and my little secret'. However, that was not to be. Harry insisted upon accompanying us, and was so interested in researching the fifth House of Hogwarts and the former stables that his enthusiasm quickly diverted Hermione and me into becoming his assistants. We found no more than passing references to the Peverel House and the days of five Houses, but Harry turned up several photographs of the stables and oil paintings from 1610 and 1740, showing the stables in relation to the castle and grounds. It appeared as though the mound that we had identified closest to the castle was the most likely site of the stables, but Harry insisted upon borrowing the paintings for an on-the-spot comparison.

Madam Pince was disinclined to let Harry walk off with the paintings, but the invocation of the headmaster's name and the extreme confidence with which Hermione described the level of access which we had been granted to the library and archives, reduced her objections to a requirement that Harry sign a form, on which he had to list the names of the paintings and their creators. One name was unrecognizable, but the last name on the older painting clearly said Peverell. I was glad that we had been able to find the two paintings of the stables. The visual archives of the Hogwarts library were extremely limited, containing a dozen student paintings and perhaps almost a hundred student drawings. The drawings and paintings appeared limited in subject matter to Hogwarts buildings, prominent physical features of the Hogwarts grounds, such as the wall, lake, and Forbidden Forest, and only two portraits – both of Hogwarts headmasters. There were no paintings, drawings, or photographs whose subject was not Hogwarts. I would have thought that a Hogsmeade scene, at the very least, would have made its way into the collection.

Harry carried one treasure and I the other as we left the castle and walked in the direction of the main gate. Harry stopped at the dogleg in the path and allowed us all to study the perspective provided by each painting. In the end, we all agreed that the stables were farther along the path, towards the castle. The near mound that we had identified in the morning matched the stable's location in the older painting, but seemed too close to the castle if the 1740 painting was to be believed. Harry chose to believe a Peverell over an anonymous. We were standing in front of the mound, comparing it against the two paintings, when Luna and her father snuck up on us.

"I see you've unearthed some pertinent historical evidence," Xenophilius observed. "That's the approach that a good reporter or historian would take. Can I have a look at those? Umm. The students don't seem to have the same grasp of perspective, but all in all, I think you've identified the correct spot. One of the things that sells me on this spot is that you can see that where we see a fairly wide-spread mound before us, both paintings show just flat ground and stables in this whole area. There is no mound between where the artist stood and the castle to be found in either painting. There most definitely is something lurking beneath this grassy mound. You'd probably figure it out as the good investigators that you obviously are, but I'll give you a little hint that might help. We reporters like to surround an issue from all sides. So, if there were once five houses and today's Gryffindor was once Peverell, you might find some sign of that Peverell in today's Gryffindor. You might even find something which points to the old Gryffindor. I know the school contains relics from each of its founders. I'd expect something of Peverell's to be here, somewhere. Just a word to the wise, do with it as you wish."

"Oh my," I said, looking at Harry's watch, "we'll have to hurry back or we'll be late for dinner."

We went straight to the Great Hall, to find everyone else already seated for dinner. We were greeted by a glare from McGonagall, which could have been caused either by our lateness or by entering the Hall carrying the two paintings, which at about forty inches across by thirty tall, were difficult to miss. All became clear as the Professor intoned, "looting the school's treasures, are we?"

Madam Pince perked up so much at this comment, that I had to beg Professor McGonagall to confirm that she had indeed given us complete access to the restricted section and the archives. She relented and informed Madam Pince that we did, indeed, have her consent, but said she would prefer that we not carry delicate centuries-old oils out into the elements.

Dinner was a happy affair. Whatever the Slytherins had been doing on their picnic, and Ron had informed us that they didn't appear to have gotten into any mischief of the snooping or sabotage variety, they were brimming with smiles and good will. Xenophilius was well behaved, with nary an 'odious child' passing his lips. After dessert, Harry suggested to Professor McGonagall that we get together in her office to compare notes.

Since the whole circle was present, no mention was made of the prophecies. However, Harry thought we should trace the wands. "It's possible that the Death Eaters wanted them for purely symbolic reasons, either to rally their own troops or to deny the Minister an effective exhibit at the entrance to the Ministry of Magic. Still, I can't help but think that if I had an unknown piece of Voldemort inside my head, it's possible that the Death Eaters are hoping that Voldemort unknowingly carved off another tiny piece of his consciousness that some unsuspecting soul is walking around with inside his head. We know that the splits in Voldemort's soul were triggered by killing people, so if a part of him were unknowingly sloughed off, it would have occurred after a murder. I was thinking back to my duel with him beside his father's grave. Our wands locked, and I saw ghosts of the last half dozen or so people he killed. He used his original wand, Lucius Malfoy's, and Dumbledore's. If we interrogated all of those wands, we should get a readout of everyone he's murdered. If we can figure out where the murders occurred and who was nearby, we could determine whether or not there is still a piece of him out there."

"That makes sense," Hermione congratulated Harry. I had a similar thought this afternoon. Voldemort liked to hide his horcruxes in important Wizard artefacts. He was especially partial toward artefacts related to Hogwarts. If there is a Peverell artefact still at Hogwarts, I think it would have been irresistible to Voldemort. I was never convinced that we were certain how many horcruxes existed. I don't think Voldemort knew about Harry. I'm not sure he would have completely trusted Slughorn about the absolute maximum number. He'd always have the urge to make 'just one more'. That was his personality. I don't think it's right to assume that every horcrux had to be destroyed for Voldemort to die. He was certainly near dead after attacking baby Harry, and he had all of his horcruxes back then."

McGonagall looked thoughtfully at Hermione for a long time, and then merely concluded "Perhaps. I'm not sure either suggestion leads us anywhere. I credit Harry's ingenuity, but I think it takes us to a dead end. That would be an awful lot of murders to investigate," McGonagall observed. "I don't believe you have fully grasped just how many Wizards, Muggles, Goblins, etc. he killed in his short lifetime. You'd never have a complete list. He used Nagini for some of his killings and the basilisk for others. I'm not saying it isn't a useful exercise, just that it is a far more daunting task than you imagine."

"I've come to suspect as much," Harry said, "but I'd still like to give it a try. We know where Dumbledore's wand is, and we know where Voldemort's original wand is located, so we just need to find Draco's wand."

A momentary interruption allowed me to gather my thoughts about Draco's wand. I had the kernel of an idea starting to roll off the top my mind the top of my mind and was trying to fully capture it before the conversation passed me by, when there was a 'pffft' from the floo fireplace and a message floated into Professor McGonagall's hand.

She opened the message, started to read, and then scowled and balled up the message as she tossed it into the flames. "Why do all these 'little suggestions' from the Minister aggravate me so, even when I basically agree with most of them? He thinks I should hire a professor of magical engineering and has a good lad from the Ministry in mind. I thought of adding an engineering course, but if Kingsley is so determined to have one, perhaps I should wait."

"But," I said, with a bolt of realization and then the instant sense that perhaps I had overridden the headmaster before she had finished her griping, "we know where Draco's wand is. I can't believe I figured that out before you did, Harry. Listen, we know that Draco lost his wand to you, during the fight when we escaped from the Malfoy residence. We know he was using his mother's wand when he fought you in the Room of Requirement, and we know that he lost that wand during the fight and it was destroyed by the Wizard's Fire curse. We know that Lucius Malfoy had Voldemort's wand, but that he hid it at Hogwarts. I have no idea what anonymous wand Professor Slughorn confiscated from him. Lucius left Hogwarts that night carrying an ordinary, anonymous wand, while Narcissa left without a wand. And yet, when you visited Narcissa at Grimmauld Place, she was able to immediately decode Lucius's note with a quick tap of her wand. She was able to do that, because she was holding Draco's wand. I don't know how the wand got from Hogwarts to her hand, although I have a theory that we haven't considered yet, but I know she's got it now. Lucius is a powerful enough Wizard to have fairly quickly coded the message with an anonymous wand, but Narcissa doesn't have the skills to just casually decode the family code with a tap of an anonymous wand."

"I think you're right," Harry declared, "and I think that paying her a visit will be the last thing we do tonight".

Harry summoned Kreacher. He, Ron, and Hermione went to Grimmauld place, and they returned bearing Draco's wand.

"She wasn't happy about it, and more than a little ashamed to be caught in her trickery, but she had little choice but to give it up. She confirmed that this wand was part of what she considered her 'leverage' and that she had failed, to date, to acquire the remaining bits of leverage," Hermione summarized. "I don't think she is all that bad a person, she just feels cornered and desperate and is in need of a totem to protect her family."

"Did she tell you how Draco's wand came into her possession?" I asked.

"No, she refused to tell us. She said it would just hurt good people who were only trying to help her protect her son." Hermione replied.

"You've shown such fine detective skills on that mystery, Ginny," Harry said to me, "that I have to ask for your theory on how Narcissa came to have Draco's wand in her possession."

"I don't really know," I replied, "but I was thinking back to the account of the riot on the Hogwarts Express, which I read about in my Daily Prophet. Remember which students Rita Skeeter interviewed? It was Margaret Wright, Erin Device, and Millicent Bulstrode. It was also Millicent who suggested that Pansy return to Hogwarts. I realize that I haven't demonstrated anything yet, but add to that your prior discovery that Rita is an animagus, who can impersonate a bug. That would have given her safe and easy entry and exit from Gryffindor. Not conclusive, but certainly suggestive, I'd say."

"Indeed, I think you're onto something that requires more careful study," Professor McGonagall said, in a tone that caused me to interpret her remarks as a compliment.

Our meeting broke up shortly after that, with the only point of note being Harry's mention that we were pursuing the mystery of the fifth House of Hogwarts. McGonagall encouraged us and said she would think on that, as well.

With that, we were off to Gryffindor and bed. We still did watch shifts, but found nobody out of place.

Both the lack of night-time excitement and the promise of a fresh new adventure had all of our group waking faster and with more energy than we had seen in the past days. We quickly washed and dressed and headed down to the Great Hall for breakfast, reminding each other to control the bright, happy look on our faces, lest the Slytherins think we had a secret.


	28. Chapter 28

**Chapter Twenty-Eight – Stashing A Wand**

The Slytherins' frazzled looks contrasted with our happy faces. Pansy complained vociferously, "the ghost was more threatening than ever. You have to believe us this time, because Professors Slughorn and Hagrid saw it. It kept buzzing around Hagrid's head, until he made a strong wind with his wand and pinned it in the corner of the common room. Hagrid and Professor Slughorn then herded it upstairs and locked it inside an unused dorm room, sealing the door with what Professor Slughorn called 'special magical gunk'. Perhaps that will settle the problem for a while, but I assure you that the ghost is gaining strength. Which reminds me, Hagrid isn't even allowed to have a wand, is he?"

"Very well," Professor McGonagall replied, "we'll keep our watchers at Slytherin and see what develops. I don't think the regulation of my staff is any concern of yours, Miss Parkinson, but if you must know, the Minister is fully aware that Hagrid has his wand. You missed a beautiful ceremony with the Minister after lunch yesterday.

"It was more a nuisance that kept us up, than anything super scary," Draco concluded the discussion. "We'll be fine".

We hurried back to the common room with an hour to review the plan to stash Harry's wand.

"Professor McGonagall insists on having us escorted on this trip," grumbled Harry, "and that has some merit as far as Hagrid, Bill, and Fleur are concerned, but I'm not happy about taking Bill, the auror. We just don't know that much about him, and I don't think he adds a lot. I certainly don't want him present when I hide the Elder Wand."

"Let's split into two groups. I'm not proud - I can babysit the auror, while you hide the wand," volunteered George."

"Thank you," Harry answered. "As you know, I sent three owls. One was to Seamus. I asked him to make a duplicate of the Elder Wand. I plan to be seen hiding the fake wand, and we'll see what happens from there. In particular, I want Bill the auror and Margaret Wright to see me hide the fake in Godric's Hollow. The babysitter team must convince Bill that he is part of the crew protecting me while I secrete the wand.

"The second owl was to Margaret, asking her to be especially vigilant when she goes to church today. We'll be sure to include her in my protection for disposing of the wand and ask her to observe anyone in the vicinity afterward.

"Here's the plan, let me know what you think of it. Ron, Hermione, Ginny, and I will use the Polyjuice to travel to Diagon Alley to pick up the phony wand. To add a little confusion, we'll travel as Bill the auror, Madam Pomfrey, McGonagall, and Draco. We'll have to be on guard, in case someone tries to snatch Draco.

"Meanwhile, George and Bill the auror will travel as themselves to Godric's Hollow and attend church. George will tell Bill that the purpose of the trip is to scout the place out and be ready to defend me, because I need to stop in to hide something. You can be creative, George, to give Bill enough leeway for someone to approach him if they want to. George will ask Margaret to stay at the church, so that I can talk to her. Luna, Neville, Bill, and Fleur will be there, using a polyjuice disguise. They'll provide cover, and also keep watch on our auror friend. Luna has the hardest part. She's going to be disguised as Pansy, and will give Margaret every opportunity to contact her.

"Hagrid, Grawp, and Molly will be at the Weasley's house, keeping it secure. That is our final apparation target if anything goes wrong, or when we finish in Godric's Hollow. We should arrive at the church a little after noon. If all goes well, we'll be gone in an hour. Questions?"

"It just sound like you want to have an elaborate costume party," Luna teased Harry, "but I don't mind pretending to be Pansy. Perhaps I'll make a new enemy on her behalf."

"Where are we disapparating from?" asked Ron.

"We'll apparate to Ollivander's from the tunnel to Honeydukes. Seamus will keep the entrance clear. We've all been there, so we should be able to apparate to it. George will take Bill the auror off the school grounds, by the main gate and let Bill apparate him to Godric's Hollow. The rest of you will have preceded George by about ten minutes. Our Bill and his Fleur should already be in place when you arrive – that was my third owl.

"Okay, wish us luck, we're off. Here's the map George, you may need it to find Bill."

We didn't take the Polyjuice until we had entered the tunnel by way of the horse's butt entrance. As we saw it taking effect we disapparated. We twisted and turned before landing almost on the doorstep of Ollivander's. I was proud – this was the first solo long-distant apparation for most of us and it relied upon our childhood memory of the Diagon Alley location. It's a wonder we didn't die. Seamus ushered us in and quickly closed the door.

"We've done as well as we could on the wand, without the actual to work from. If this had been a wand produced by Mr. Ollivander, we could have duplicated it nearly perfectly. "

"It looks quite good," Harry appraised the work, "but I think the color is a bit off in spots." He laid the true Elder Wand on the countertop beside the phony, pointing to areas where the real wand had discolored with age and frequent contact with the hands of its various owners.

"Let me work on that," suggested Mr. Ollivander, stepping from the back of his shop with a collection of stains, varnishes, and clays of various colors. He also had a small bottle of what he described as "the urine of a mature dragon – just the thing for imparting the look of age and wear to a wand." Mr. Ollivander labored for close to an hour, even filing away at the phony wand in the areas where it was thicker than the real wand and using a knife to add the nicks suffered by the Elder Wand over its many years of life. Each file or newly nicked area required a multiple-step artificial aging process, until the wand had the patina that comes only from aged varnish and the dried oil and dirt of many Wizards' hands.

"Nothing is too good for the people who rescued me from those awful Death Eaters," Mr. Ollivander declared. "You are very frightening as Draco, Harry. Here you are, it's finished. Since you intend for this wand to be stolen, I've included a very special flaw in it. It will work fine for routine work, but if the user tries to propel a killing curse, it will backfire on the user and render him unconscious – at the very least. That is any user, Harry, including you. So, be very careful. Let me know how this turns out. It is exciting to be a part of whatever game you're playing."

"If this works, it will be putting the real Elder Wand to rest for the remainder of my lifetime, at which point I'm hoping it will be just another wand," Harry replied, stowing the phony in his sock and the real wand in his robes.

With thanks to Seamus and Mr. Ollivander, we left the shop, joined hands and after Harry whispered to Hermione, disapparated under her able pilotage.

As the churning stopped, I found we had apparated onto the grounds of Bill and Fleur's Shell Cottage. We scanned the area with our wands outstretched and then followed Harry across the lawn to the grave of Dobby. Harry removed the true wand from his robes and magically buried it in the grave. "Let this wand be a final tribute to a great and loyal Elf, and may his freedom bring the freedom of all Elves," declared Harry.

"Amen," said Hermione.

We sat before the grave, both in reverence to a lost friend who had saved our lives, and to allow the Polyjuice that Harry had taken to wear off. We changed into Muggle clothes. We assumed the Wizards would recognize us as Wizards, but we could pass among the Muggles without attracting attention. Harry looked very nice in tight jeans and a muscle tee top, which revealed that he really could use a little more muscle about his shoulders, but all in all, quite nice. I, on the other hand was an old woman, in an old-fashioned print dress down to just above my ankles. I hurriedly fixed my hair in a bun to match.

When the Polyjuice had worn off and Harry was once again Harry, the rest of us swallowed another mouthful of the potion and prepared for our trip to Godric's Hollow. If we were to be attacked, I was sure it would be there, both because it was a natural place for Harry to show up, and because our advance guard would have already caused a stir and alerted potential enemies that Harry was about to arrive, bearing the prize they sought.

"Harry and I have been there before," Hermione informed us, "so it would be safer if he and I apparated you into the village. The little lane that we arrived at last time should be safe enough. If Harry loans us the invisibility cloak, Ron and I can go through first and provide both a distraction and protection for our entry point. Give us about five minutes and then follow. After you arrive, we'll blend into whatever pedestrian traffic there is in the village and give you cover as you approach the church. I suspect you'll hide the wand at one of the Peverell graves. We'll use the cloak to hang around near the grave for the rest of the afternoon, and then meet you back at the burrow for supper."

"I had a slightly different plan, but yours is better, so we'll follow it," Harry replied.

Harry handed the cloak to Ron, who slipped it over Hermione and himself, and then they were gone.

"We'll have to apparate with our wands ready, but not showing," Harry explained, quite unnecessarily. "We'll be on a narrow lane, leading toward the church, and we'll just start strolling along, so that by the time anyone notices us, we'll look like we have a definite destination in sight. I think our first stop should be the church itself, by way of the front door, in case Margaret or Bill is waiting for me there. Margaret may be surprised to see Madam Pomfrey traveling with me, so perhaps you can just say you were a spare body that McGonagall sent along to watch over me. That might give you a little advantage, because nobody will expect Pomfrey to fight as well as you do."

That latter pleased me. Harry grabbed my hand and we were set to travel.

{[mild fear, mainly of his ability to apparate] Hold your guts in, here we go. [nausea, mingled with excitement] Looks like we're in the clear, just walk. Remember, first sign of trouble and we all apparate straight to the Burrow.}

Ahead to our right, was a stout gentleman with a skinny woman, standing next to the phony Bill, and all of them looking down at a distraught McGonagall, who was sitting on the ground to the side of the lane and bending to grab her ankle. We walked slowly toward them, stopping briefly to ask "Is everything alright, do you need any help?"

"I'm fine, really" replied, McGonagall. "It's really stupid, I stepped on a stone and over-tread my ankle. It threw me off balance and I fell, but these nice people are helping me, so you should just run along. I'm sure I can walk."

We resumed our walk. We passed small cottages that could be described as quaint, but spoke of a dignified impoverishment. As we rounded a curve, the center of the village came into view. "It looks different in daylight," Harry exclaimed, "cheerier and less frightening. It's a clean, historic old village that could use a little upkeep."

I saw the church across a small square. The church was partially obscured by a monument in the center of the square. Harry led us straight toward that monument. "This is kind of neat," Harry said with happy eagerness in his voice, "when you approach the monument in a certain way, it changes from a Muggle war monument to a Wizard memorial to Voldemort's attack on my family. I don't even know if it's safe to try to make the monument change, with all these people around."

As he spoke, a middle-aged Muggle couple in their Sunday best walked toward us across the square. I'm not sure whether I would have been able to tell, if they actually were Wizards. We said hello to the couple as we passed. As we approached the monument, it did indeed appear to transform, although neither Harry nor I had done anything to initiate the change. Perhaps it carried charms that were visible only to the eyes of Wizards. Perhaps the memorial reacted to our wands. Another Muggle couple was approaching us, and they apparently saw nothing unusual about the monument. I could see why Harry found the memorial to be so moving. It was infant Harry in the arms of his happy mother, with proud papa beaming approval, just days before he was brutally orphaned.

"I can't tell you how much of an impact this had on me when Hermione first discovered it," Harry choked, revealing the still intense power of this memorial for him. "It's not just seeing us together as a happy family and knowing what followed, but realizing that the local Wizards cared enough about my family to create this memorial."

We had meant to walk straight to the church, but lingered at the memorial for a few minutes, while Harry recovered his mental equilibrium. I took quick glances at the memorial, but concentrated on scanning the surroundings, and people for danger. The people all seemed to be married Muggles, but I really couldn't be positive. I finally nudged Harry back on our path.

{[choked up happy/sad] Sorry, I didn't expect the memorial to affect me so strongly on the second visit. You're right, we need to keep moving, before we attract enough attention that we need to explain our presence.}

I saw the graveyard, but steered us toward the front door of the church. As we drew near the door, I saw George and Bill, the auror, standing just inside the open door.

"Margaret and her family are waiting for you inside," George reported. "Otherwise the church is pretty much empty, with just the minister and organist toodling around in the front of the church. We'll stand guard here and prevent you from being unpleasantly disturbed."

Margaret and her parents were sitting in the last pew on the right. We walked up to them and knelt on the pew in front of them, so that we could face them. "Hi Margaret," Harry said, "you know Madam Pomphrey. Professor McGonagall asked her to apparate me here, as I haven't acquired that skill yet. Hello, Mr. and Mrs. Wright".

"Hi Harry," replied Margaret, before swinging into introductions. "Mom and Dad, this is Harry Potter. I've told you about him, and this is Madam Pomphrey, who is the doctor at Hogwarts."

"We're very happy to meet a school friend of Margaret's," enthused Mrs. Wright, "especially the famous Harry Potter. Margaret doesn't have a lot of friends at school - she's a little shy. She says you've been really nice to her."

"Margaret's a very brave girl," Harry offered, providing some relief to a Margaret who was wincing at her Mom's comments.

Margaret decided to leap in and capture the tone of the meeting. "I got your owl. I'm happy to help. I've seen a lot of Wizards today. George Weasley is out front with a very athletic looking young man, who looks like a Wizard. I also saw a strange man and woman loitering along the square as we walked to church. I think they were Wizards."

"Thank you for checking out the village," replied Harry. "We'll have to be extra careful while I finish my business today. I have something that I need to hide in the church graveyard. If you notice anyone snooping around there later in the summer, please send me an owl".

"I will," promised Margaret, "and I nearly forgot, I wrote down the list of local Wizards to give to you. Here it is".

"Thanks, I didn't know if you could pull it together that fast," Harry complimented her.

"I thought the troubles with that Voldemort crowd were over," worried Mr. Wright. "I wouldn't want Margaret to be in any danger,"

"Of course not," Harry reassured him, "I'd never ask Margaret to do anything that I thought was dangerous. She was very, very brave at the Battle of Hogwarts, but that was way more than anyone expected of a second year. She was evacuated from the school, but felt so strongly that she snuck back to help in the battle."

"I can understand that," Mr. Wright replied, "Margaret grew up with you as our local hero. There's the memorial in the square and the preserved house where your parents were killed, and then all the stories over the years. We never, any of us, believed the bad things Fudge and Scrimgeour said about you. That sort of lie may fly in other communities, but not in Godric's Hollow. I'd appreciate it if you would watch out for Margaret next term. I wasn't going to send her back, after what's happened, but when I heard that you'd be back, I thought it would be okay."

"We're doing everything we can to make the school safe," Harry reassured him.

"Well, it was very nice to meet you, but we need to get on with our mission. Good bye all, and I'll see you in Gryffindor this Fall, Margaret."

We walked through the church, toward the side door that led to the cemetery. We nodded at the minister as we passed, but kept walking determinedly enough that, although he started to approach us, he stopped. We went through the door and into the graveyard. Harry led me to the first row of tombstones and then stopped, looking confused.

"It looked really different the last time. We approached from the opposite direction, and it was dark and covered with snow." We moved forward, slowly, row by row, as Harry tried to get his bearings.

"I was going to return the wand to the grave of Ignotus Peverel," Harry mumbled almost to himself, as if rolling a thought around in his head, "but now, I wonder if it wouldn't be just as good or better to hide the wand beneath the tombstone of Dumbledore's family, or my parents. I'll let fate decide, whichever grave we find first."

We came first upon the grave of the Dumbledore family. Harry inserted the Elder Wand magically beneath the tombstone, so that neither the stone nor the surrounding grass showed any sign of disturbance. He pointed at the inscription on the tombstone. "What do you make of that? Hermione and I were surprised by it."

"Where your treasure is, there will your heart be also," I read, turning the phrases over in my mind. "Dumbledore didn't view his sister as a treasure at the time she died, but he may have come to see her as such over the years. His disaster with the Resurrection Stone ring suggests the depth of his longing for any contact with his sister and mother. He may have seen his true treasure as here. Without the story of the ring, I never would have accepted that theory."

"You may be right," Harry mused. "I guess nobody will ever know for sure, and this is just one more riddle left by Dumbledore. We should move along, I want to find my parents graves."

The Dumbledore grave had given Harry his bearings and he moved almost directly to his parents' grave. He stood their reverently for several minutes, and I placed a comforting arm on his shoulder.

{[sadness] I still miss you as much as I did when I first set foot in Hogwarts and learned our family story in detail. I stared at your images in a magical mirror, until Dumbledore tore me away. When I went to sacrifice myself to Voldemort, you were both at my side, and that was a huge help. I couldn't have kept walking without it. This is Ginny Weasley and she's my girlfriend. [pride] I know you'd both like her. I'm sure we're going to get married after she graduates.}

That certainly thrilled me, although I felt I had intruded on a private moment, not meant for me. I let my arm linger another half minute, lest Harry think I had rejected the last thought, then removed it as slowly and unobtrusively as possible. Harry stood before the grave with his head bowed for several more minutes, then raised his head and motioned that it was time to go.

"I want to get one last look at the Ignotus Peverell tombstone," Harry said, as he headed almost straight for it. He made a slight correction in his last few steps and announced, "Here it is. See this faded mark, which looks sort of like an eye? Victor Krum said this was the Mark of Grindelwald. I've not heard of any other connection between Grindelwald and the Peverells. I guess we should pause here a few minutes also, both in respect to my Peverell ancestry, and so that someone may think I'm hiding the Elder Wand here."

As Harry said this, he made an obvious gesture of pulling his own wand from his pocket and then rotating his body as he hid the wand against his arm. As he crossed behind me, the wand was in his jeans. To anyone looking from the church or the steps in front of us, the wand had been pulled out and then it had vanished.

"Time to go," Harry said, and led me to the kissing gate exit. As we opened the gate, I gave an audible gasp as Ron's voice materialized out of nothingness, "sort of hold the gate open for us as you leave and then close it when we're through it. We'll stand watch here until a couple hours after nightfall and then join you at the Burrow. Hermione doesn't think anyone will come before dark."

That is a hard request to fulfil with a kissing gate. Harry pretended to fumble with the gate, and we each leaned against the gate pretending to chat. Any motion in the gate was blocked by our bodies, but the whole thing must have looked weird. Harry and I walked back up the lane until we found a sufficiently solitary spot from which to disapparate. We each traveled under our own direction and the queasiness was less for me than on the prior trips I found that I had inadvertently closed my eyes as I traveled, rather than arriving prepared for combat. I fell a few inches to the ground and opened my eyes to find the burrow in front of me and Mom in the doorway, with a welcoming smile.

"We're home," I said to Harry as we linked hands and walked up to the door to give Mom individual hugs.

{[safety] We certainly are.}

A few minutes later, Bill and Fleur arrived. Since Harry hadn't seen Fleur since he fled her wedding, there were hearty hugs all around. At the mention of the wedding, Fleur laughed, "it may not have been exactly the wedding that I planned or expected, but I'm certain that nobody will ever forget it."

"We watched your progress down the lane to the church and can tell you that you weren't followed," Bill reported. "We also watched the Wrights leave the church. On the way home, Margaret spotted Pansy-Luna and left her parents to exchange a few words with her. Then all the Wrights walked home. We followed them all the way and did a quick reconnoiter of their cottage before apparating back here."

"That could be a quite innocent meeting of school acquaintances," I reminded Harry.

Harry shook his head in agreement as Luna and Neville appeared on the lawn. They hurried into the house, in case their landing spot was needed. "So, what did Margaret have to say to you, Luna?"

"Basically, just 'hello', and that she was surprised to see me in Godric's Hollow. I said I was doing a bit of the touristy thing, given the recent prominence of some Godric's Hollow Wizards, and thought I'd make my way over to the church. She said her family had just come from there and that it was a very beautiful old church that Wizarding families had attended for over three centuries. I thanked her straight out for mentioning to Millicent that she should persuade me to stay at Hogwarts, because I was having a great time with Draco. Margaret looked a little surprised and then said that she had been in the compartment with Millicent, but said that it was Professor Slughorn who had suggested that Pansy return to Hogwarts. She thinks Slughorn mentioned receiving a message from Mrs. Malfoy."

"Not looking all that good for the Professor," said Harry.

Twenty minutes later Bill and George returned. George summarized their day: "I can't honestly say that we saw anyone behaving badly, did we, Bill?"

"Nope," replied Bill, the auror, "a perfectly dull vigil."

Ron and Hermione didn't arrive until 10:00. "No action," said Ron,before greetings were exchanged. He stretched and rubbed his neck. "My body is stiff from huddling under your cloak." A few minutes later, we were sitting down to one of Mom's wonderful home-cooked meals. Dad had already dispatched one of the aurors back to the church.

Dinner was a restrained affair. Bill's presence cramped the family nature of the gathering. Neville and Luna counted as practically family. Bill, the auror, certainly did not. Nobody wanted to say anything very important or personal in his presence, and for some reason he decided it was a great idea to suck up to Dad, and basically talk entirely too much. We finally touched on our upcoming visit to the Ministry, my NEWT exam, and the almost studiously under-mentioned upcoming trip to Beauxbatons and Durmstrang. Of course, it didn't seem proper to even allude to Australia in the presence of Bill. If the conversation was annoying, at least the beef stew was as excellent as was to be expected from Mom, as was the lemon pudding for dessert.

I drifted away from the conversation enough to again worry about Harry's and my upcoming birthdays. An awkward situation had become even more awkward. It was only natural to feel pressure about what gift to choose for a boyfriend of a few weeks. When he's already told his dead mother that he thinks he's going to marry you – well, that's pretty much totally impossible.

We said our goodbyes and apparated to the path in front of the main gate of Hogwarts. McGonagall had been waiting for us and opened the gate immediately.

"I'm sorry, you must have had a very long wait," I apologized to the headmaster, "I'm really grateful you waited."

"I am a little stiff," McGonagall admitted, "but I didn't want to risk having you exposed to attack while waiting for the gate to be opened. I couldn't delegate the task, because nobody else was to know you were away."

Harry also thanked her profusely, as we walked back to the castle. We went straight to bed, the first night we had used the dorm rooms and also the first night we hadn't stood watch over the Marauder's Map.


	29. Chapter 29

**Chapter Twenty-Nine – The Newt in Divination**

I spent all Monday cramming for my NEWT. Back in the common room after dinner, everyone was poring over the copies of The Quibbler that Luna's father had sent. The articles were all very favorable and we all sounded both intelligent and sincere. Everyone looked very attractive in the pictures. Just about the entire issue was taken up by reporting on the 'exclusive coverage' of the press conference. Xenophilius had included a note, apologizing for not sending copies by the morning owls, explaining that he wanted to keep every copy he could print for sale. He had been able to sell every copy he printed, until he dispatched the owls at noon. We went to bed a little early, and I slept in the girls' dorm again, missing Harry, but wanting to keep Professor McGonagall and Mom happy, and wanting to get as much sleep as possible, in order to be fresh for my NEWT.

I went down to breakfast extra early, ahead of everyone else, and was already getting up from the table as the others arrived. Harry met me on his way to the table, and gave me a big hug and a snog.

{[happy] Good luck on your exam. I'll see you after you finish. We're going to be in the library.}

I walked briskly to the classroom, where the exam was scheduled to be given. I wanted time to pull myself together, before the exam began. A few minutes after I arrived, one of the aurors arrived and then Professor Flitwick came and unlocked the door to the classroom. He directed me to the middle seat in the front row.

"Since it's just you taking the exam, Miss Weasley, I'll just give it to you now, and you may begin immediately. You have two hours. Here's your exam book, here is the question sheet, and I'm starting the time right now."

I felt like the subject of intense scrutiny as Flitwick eyed me from the front of the room and the auror watched me from the rear, pacing about the back of the room. If I had planned on cheating, I certainly would have been out of luck. I was encouraged to see that the longest essay question requested a detailed discussion of the factors affecting the accuracy of a prophecy: the extent to which the Wizards involved could alter the fate forecast by a valid prophecy; how to assess whether a particular prophecy was valid; how prophecies were stored by the Ministry; and to state, analyze, and comment in detail about any specific prophecy of my choosing. Given our discussion with Professors McGonagall and Trelawney the other night, our adventures seeking Harry's prophecy at the Ministry, and the detailed discussions which I had participated in concerning the Harry/Voldemort prophecy, I felt confident of earning full marks on this question, which counted for fifty percent of the exam.

I think I did reasonably well on the more detailed questions regarding the interpretation of tea stains and palms, remembering a fair amount of what Professor Trelawney had taught us and having crammed on these topics throughout Monday. I was also pleasantly surprised to find a question on interpretation of prophecies and readings based on celestial observation, which required a short essay, and was worth twenty percent. Since I was one of the female students who found myself particularly taken with Professor Firenze, I had maintained rapt attention to his lectures. I would have been in far worse shape had the twenty pointer been on astrology instead. I had also crammed astrology, but had found Professor Trelawney's lectures rather boring, so would not have been equipped with anything other than the specific facts that I had crammed. I felt certain that, at NEWT level, the graders would be seeking a deeper understanding on a twenty point question.

I finished about fifteen minutes before the exam was to end and spent my remaining time quickly skimming my answers, correcting a few minor errors that I had made due to the haste with which I was writing. I was feeling quite good about my performance when Professor Flitwick came up beside me and asked for the exam book back. I gave it to him, watched him seal it, and initial the seal. Then it was off to the library to join the others.

When I entered the library, I could tell by the way she was sitting and flicking her pen between the notes she was writing down, that Hermione had found something important and was very excited. I made enough noise upon entering the library that she looked up and immediately motioned for me to join her. She was working alone at one of the tables provided for students in the main section of the library. The others were in the adjacent room, rooting through the visual archives. I knew, from our prior foray into that room, that it housed exclusively photographs, drawings, and paintings. I sat down next to Hermione and she whispered to me, "I found an old record in a book from 1840. It quotes Nicholas Flamel as describing an interesting case of telepathy between a German couple.

"Flamel had studied the couple years earlier and reported that they were able to freely exchange thoughts, emotions, and even a fixed visual image of something that one of them was staring at. The husband could transmit his thoughts to his wife over a distance of six feet and he could pick up her thoughts from a distance of four feet. The author describes elaborate precautions that Flamel took to rule out any possibility that he was being hoaxed. I was just beginning to read the really interesting part, when you arrived.

"This couple later had a son and two daughters. Flamel returned to interview them all years after his original investigation, when the son was seven and the sisters were eleven and thirteen. Both parents were able to exchange thoughts with their son, but not with either of the daughters. The father and son could communicate over a distance of up to a dozen feet, in either direction. Flamel put them in separate rooms, with a one foot thick stone wall between them and found that they were still able to communicate at a distance of four feet, including the wall. The mother could only communicate with her son at a distance of four feet. Now, here's another really interesting thing. By that time, the husband and wife had noticed an increased ability to trade thoughts, and could do so at a distance of up to twenty feet.

"The author says he has searched diligently through the Wizard records at Durmstrang, the Paris Ministry library, and what he describes as 'with special permission from the Hogwarts staff to view their reserved collection', but could find no further mention of this phenomenon. I think this man has done the bulk of our research for us. We now know we are highly unlikely to find any records older than 1840, unless there was something else in Flamel's records that this author did not review.

"There could be something more recent in the Hogwarts restricted collection. Dumbledore and Flamel were great friends and there may well be some correspondence that touches on this phenomenon. Flamel may have even sent some of his original records to Dumbledore. After all, he knew six years ago, when he allowed Dumbledore to destroy the Sorcerer's Stone, that he and his wife would not have long to live. I found a reference that says Flamel died three years ago and that his wife died a year later. So, Dumbledore was still alive at the time and Flamel would have expected him to live another several decades. It makes sense that he would give Dumbledore his most important research papers for safekeeping. I'm going to look for them in the restricted section, before we leave for the Continent."

"That is very interesting information," I replied, a little stunned to have learned so much so fast. Hermione certainly was everything she claimed to be, when it came to library research. "It just feels good to know that at least one other family had the same ability that Harry and I have. It makes it seem rare, but not freaky."

"Happy to be of service," Hermione answered. "You know how much I enjoy getting really deep into a research project."

It was nearing lunchtime when Harry and the others stuck their heads out of the visual archives room. "Look what we found," Ron beckoned us. Entering the room we saw a large unframed pencil drawing on very yellow and cracked paper. The drawing was a good four feet by three feet and was dated 1591. It was a detailed drawing of one side of the stables. The interesting feature was that, unlike the oil paintings, which we had examined earlier, this one clearly showed a lot of fine detail on a second floor of the stables, with glassed windows, fitted with shutters. We tried to estimate the size of the windows, from the sketch of two men and a horse shown in front of the stables and from the open stable door next to these figures. The windows appeared to be about five feet high and three and a half to four feet wide. Only one window was depicted with the shutters open, and it showed the window divided into nine panes, with what might have been wood lath separating the panes. There were six windows showing on the second level, which might well correspond to six rooms. It was possible that the boys had found our first concrete evidence of the original Gryffindor dormitory.

George was very excited. "Luna and I found it, going through this box of really old drawings. We also found a few old, or even older, drawings of the castle, that I'd like to examine in more detail on another day. These drawings are from the days when students aimed for exactly capturing the image, with all of its detail, and no poetic or artistic embellishments. They're much more trustworthy than the later oils. The guys who drew these pictures also really understood what they were doing with perspective. The school must have taught pencil drawing back in the day. There aren't a lot of drawings in the archive, but what's there is really quite good."

"This has been a very productive morning," Harry declared, "but it's time for lunch. We have our visit to the Ministry and night on the town to look forward to."

As we were leaving the library, Harry touched the back of my neck{[exultant] How'd your NEWT go. You look very happy and confident, so I'm assuming it went very well. I never realized that rooting through old archives could be so exciting or so worthwhile. I'm beginning to see why Hermione gets such a kick out of library research.}

"I think I did really well," I replied as we walked to lunch, "it was as if some of the questions were written just for me. I got to use just about everything we talked about with Professors McGonagall and Trelawney in their apartment. I have a really good feeling that I passed. And, more excitement, while you and the guys were finding those pencil drawings, Hermione found an old 1840 reference to a family that had the same skill as our secret communications. A Nicholas Flamel did the study. You'll remember him from the Sorcerer's Stone."

"I certainly do, but we're at lunch, we'd better drop this, for later."

"One more thing, before we sit down," I spoke quickly as I led Harry to a quiet corner of the Great Hall. "The exam brought the whole meeting in McGonagall's apartment flashing back to me, including your comment about her manipulating me, because the prophecy made me very important. How do I protect myself from that?"

"You make her job a lot harder if you don't let her know what kind of candy you like. The most dangerous candy is craving her approval. Be your own judge of your worth. Or, just accept my view that you are the most wonderful person I know."

Harry had embarrassed himself and he scurried back to the table, before I had a chance to ask him more about candy.

McGonagall was immersed in detailed planning with Mom and Bill, the auror, by the time we sat down at the table. It had been decided that we would disapparate for the Ministry at around 1:30, guided by Bill, who was authorized to apparate directly into Dad's antechamber, which was just down the hall from the Minister's conference room, in the top executive wing of the Ministry. The executive wing was an inner sanctum sanctorum more restricted than the area housing the Deputy Under-Secretaries to the Minister, like Delores Umbridge, which Harry had successfully infiltrated just a few months ago.

Mom explained that we would meet at the entry steps and depart from there, after we had changed our clothes. Dad had provided suitable Muggle dinner attire, which was waiting in the Gryffindor common room, and which we were to wear under our formal robes for our meetings and press conference at the Ministry.

"This built up a degree of agitated excitement that took enough of an edge off my appetite that I didn't even mind when the headmaster announced "just light fare for lunch, since I'm sure the Minister will feed you extremely well. Old Kingsley is delighted to spend some of Malfoy's Muggle money in London. He's settled our obligations to the Muggle Prime Minister and still has what he described as 'two million quid' of Lucius's spare cash. He assured me, when I gave him a blank look, that it really is an awful lot of money. I just hope Kingsley is neither standing out among the Muggles nor causing the Wizarding community to doubt his honesty."

Lunch was basically a light tomato bouillon soup and a few crackers, which certainly came under the category of light fare. Draco seemed hugely annoyed and announced that he would have to hunt up another picnic basket for the afternoon. Much as I enjoyed seeing Draco feeling sorry for himself, we had to hurry back to Gryffindor to get ready for our trip. I grabbed the parcel with my name on it and rushed up to the girls' dorm to change. Hermione and Luna were right behind me.

"Today may be the only chance we get for months," Hermione began, "to have Rita Skeeter in a position where we can challenge her about the interviews on the train, her connections to the Malfoys, Draco's wand, and our trashed dorm. I hate to pass it by, but we have enough gaps in our knowledge that we're going to have to bluff that we know more than we do, and hope we can trick or frighten her into filling in the missing pieces. I think Ginny is right that Rita is guilty of something in this affair, probably much of it. It is not just proving her guilt - the more important thing is that if we can get to the bottom of this mystery, it will lift a cloud from some other people, like Margaret and Millicent."

For some reason, I dropped my voice to a whisper as I suggested to Hermione "I doubt the Minister knows or would appreciate Rita keeping him in the dark about being an unregistered animagus. If you hinted in that direction, it might cause her to confess the smaller secret, before you reveal the larger one."

"I like the way you think," Hermione complimented me. "I'll have to think how we can make this work."

"Don't get too carried away in your enthusiasm with my mental doodling," I said. "I recognize there are a lot of holes in my theory. I haven't explained Mrs. Goyle, or how Narcissa or somebody else learned where Lucius hid Voldemort's wand. So, to make my theory work it has to involve not only Rita and Narcissa, but Lucius who, unless he faked the estrangement to throw us off, is not on speaking terms with Narcissa. I also don't understand how the remaining Death Eaters fit into this. We believe they would kill, rather than help, either Malfoy. Then, there is also the mystery of why Umbridge was carrying poison, in addition to the letter from Lucius. It's like she was on two different missions at the same time."

"Alright," Hermione agreed. "Perhaps it is best not to confront Rita, unless I can fit a few more of the pieces into place, especially if there were multiple plots and plotters. However, Rita could be one of the pieces that tie them together. Her work would bring her into contact with both the Malfoys, and also with known Death Eaters, particularly Thicknesse, when he was Minster. And, if these aren't all separate plots, but linked, with the animosities faked in order to draw off suspicion, then Rita would be the perfect intermediary. As a reporter, she is expected to move about and talk to all sorts of people, and, with her bug routine, she could elude surveillance even without apparating. I definitely have to think some more on this one."

The boys were waiting for us, when we returned to the common room. Harry had decided to take Draco's wand with us, just in case he could arrange with Minister Shacklebolt to conduct an experiment with Voldemort's wand. We were all leaving the common room, just as Mom was trying to cross the portal. Seeing us, she turned around and accompanied us to the entry stairs. "I was just a little worried that you were going to be late, and that would be an embarrassment to your father," she said by way of explanation. "By the way Ginny, with all the excitement about planning this visit to the Ministry, I forgot to ask how well you did on your NEWT exam."

"I think I did just GREAT, Mom!"

Soon we had joined Bill in front of the entry steps. He was staring at his watch, and at exactly 1:29 he told us to join hands. "You will not be allowed to have wands in your hands within the executive wing of the Ministry, so make sure your wands stay safely stowed in your robes." I was watching his wrist as he lectured us, and at exactly 1:30 I felt myself pulled back into never-never land. I was thinking this guy doesn't fool around when he says ABOUT 1:30. My musings were halted as we apparated into what I was told was Dad's antechamber. It was very impressive. A large waiting room, at least twenty by thirty feet, with a Witch assistant at a big formal desk of some exotic wood, just waiting to greet visitors, and a really thick carpet that one sank into, almost up to the ankles.


	30. Chapter 30

**Chapter Thirty – Can We Catch a Bug in a Jar?**

"We're not going into your father's office," Bill said, following my eyes to the closed door, with its big brass doorknob with the Ministry seal, a unicorn kneeling before a Wizard, embossed in fine detail on what looked to be an ivory inset. A big shiny plate on the door said Deputy Minister Weasley. "Are you listening, Ginny?" Bill was saying, "your father is already in the Minister's conference room and we're to meet him there."

"Just one quick peek," I almost begged.

"I'm sure he and the Minister will show you all the offices after your meetings," was Bill's response, as he led us down the corridor and into a large room, which had a very large rectangular table, of polished inlaid wood, in the center. The table was surrounded by sixteen large green leather chairs. The chair at the head of the table was larger than the others and Minister Shacklebolt was seated in it. Dad was at the opposite end of the table. Luna's father and Rita Skeeter occupied the center two of six chairs on the far side of the table. We were asked to make ourselves comfortable in the six chairs on the near side of the table. There were two solitary cloth chairs in corners of the room. Bill, the auror, moved to one of them. Bron Turner already occupied the other.

"Welcome," the Minister said. "Arthur and I have been explaining our election platform to Rita and Xenophilius and have been answering their questions. They seem very interested to hear from all of you."

Rita decided to start with an unexpected question. "Miss Weasley, when you met with the Minister to discuss endorsing him, were you at all surprised to find that this man of the people, who presents himself as a force for honesty and reform, was living at a very expensive country estate, belonging to a wealthy Muggle, rather than living in a typical Wizard dwelling?"

"It is a very nice house, but the Minister needs to live in a secret spot as protection against Death Eaters and with enough space to house his guard and seclusion to enhance security. His own house, where I'm sure he would feel more comfortable and at home, would be too great a security risk with Death Eaters still on the loose."

I shot Dad a worried look to query 'was that alright?' Dad gave a noncommittal look in return. Rita followed up with another surprising question.

"Mrs. Weasley, you are the only wife of a high Ministry official that I can recall actually killing someone. How did it feel to kill Bellatrix?"

"I didn't feel much at the time. She was threatening my daughter and I acted automatically on adrenaline. After the fact, I felt quite proud of myself, both to best someone of Bellatrix's skill and also to rid the world of that insane assassin. There are very few Witches whom I would label as evil, but she certainly earned that label."

"But do you feel different now that you've killed someone. Do you feel any guilt or remorse?"

"I don't feel different and I don't feel remorse. I thought of myself prior to the incident as a woman who was willing to risk her life to save her children and I was pleased and perhaps a trifle surprised that I rose to the occasion when the need arose. Why should I feel remorse for killing such a monster in a fair duel? Would you ask that question of a man who had just killed such an evil individual?"

"As a matter of fact, I would. Harry, how did it feel to kill Voldemort? Have you felt different since it happened, and have you felt any remorse? Do you feel bad to, basically, be celebrated because you killed someone?"

"I didn't think of myself as a killer before the fight, and I don't now," Harry replied. "I did not use a killing or illegal curse against Voldemort. He tried to kill me, and his curse rebounded on him. I don't know whether or not I could have actually brought myself to dispatch him with an 'Avada Kedavra' curse. I certainly saw it as my mission to destroy him and made a deliberate search to find and destroy his horcruxes, so that he would be killable when I eventually faced him.

"I can't tell you, because I don't know myself, why I didn't use a killing curse in that duel. No, I have no regrets. Yes, I feel a little different, but I had seen death before. I could see the thestrals in my fifth year."

"You've got Dumbledore's wand, the famous Elder Wand or Death Stick. Does that make you feel more powerful, like you could kill any Wizard that happened to cross you?"

"What? Just because I'm not sorry that Voldemort is dead or that I played a part in his death doesn't mean that I've suddenly developed an urge to see how many Wizards I can kill. And to the first part of the question, yes, you know that I won the Elder Wand, from both Draco and Voldemort, so yes it recognizes me as its new owner. Frankly, I'm just as happy to use the original wand that I bought before I entered Hogwarts. You seem to be asking fairly pro-Death Eater questions today, should I ask you to roll up your sleeve?"

"Yes, I certainly agree. Don't I get to ask a question, and aren't your questions rather beside the point of this press conference?" interjected Mr. Lovegood.

"No, Xenophilius, you've had your turn, now it's mine. Our readers are interested in real reporting, and both sides of the story, not that thin pabulum that you published to puff up the Wizards who just overthrew the Ministry, when you had your great big exclusive."

"I'll have you know that I've had to start a fifth run of our last issue, and that I'm still selling copies as fast as I can print them. I didn't realize that it was wrong to overthrow a regime that had violently deposed the prior elected Minister," Mr. Lovegood responded, indignantly.

"And, I'll have Miss Skeeter know, that I'll decide who asks the questions," the Minister said, angrily. Then switching to a gentle tone, "please ask your question, Xenophilius."

"Now that the Battle of Hogwarts has been won, are you Heroes continuing to participate in the fight?"

"You call that a serious journalistic question!" sneered Rita. "Are you their fluffy little lapdog or their interrogator?"

"I'm their interviewer, and I will transcribe their answers honestly, not like someone I know. But in answer to your question, I'll admit to an impulsive thought that if I framed a ridiculous, non-professional question, which was the exact opposite of your approach, that you might have enough self-awareness to realize what a caricature you have made of yourself."

"I doubt you know the meaning of caricature. Caricature of what?"

"The caricature of a biased, dishonest reporter, who has lost all interest in accurately reporting or analyzing events, one whose only hope of writing a good story is to try to create an incident, herself."

"Your style is as out of date as your name, Xenophilius. Don't you know – we're in the entertainment and self-esteem business. Our subscribers, most of whom either supported Voldemort or were too timid to do anything to oppose him, are not interested in hearing how heroic and brave Potter is or how he has won adulation and reward through his accomplishments. They want to read that he is troubled, ridden with remorse, and no happier than they are, for all his bravery in battling Voldemort. They want to feel better about themselves and not have to think that Potter is superior to them. In short, they want to know what a tormented, confused boy he is and how alarmed he is to find out how much crap he has stepped in."

"I'll take that original question." Hermione jumped at it, probably just to shut Rita up, even shooting up her hand before sheepishly lowering it. "Actually we've had quite a few loose ends to clean up. We captured Lucius Malfoy when he invaded Hogwarts a few days ago, but presently we're working on a minor mystery. It seems someone has used special individual powers to sneak into the Gryffindor dormitory, steal a wand belonging to Draco Malfoy, trash the rooms in the girls' dorm, try to smuggle an important wand out of Hogwarts, and allow Draco's wand to get from Hogwarts to his mother. All of this required the use of a very special power. Not to mention somebody who was in contact with both Malfoys, and the Death Eaters, and all their agents. We've only learned about this since we recovered Draco's wand from his mother, but we've certainly put together a lot of clues to this mystery, such as who was making suggestions to Pansy Parkinson, who is now at Hogwarts, by the way. You look like you don't fully believe me. Show her Draco's wand, Harry! We found Voldemort's wand too, by the way. With all these various plots gone bad, I think we'll get our next break when one of the plotters turns on an agent that betrayed him….or her."

As Harry pulled the wand from under his robes, both aurors leapt to their feet, but were waved back to their seats by the Minister. Harry hastily dropped the wand onto the table, but Rita had blanched an even whiter shade of pale than she had assumed while Hermione was speaking.

She was able to do little more than stutter, "Y-y-y-oo m-m-ust b-be ref-ref-, talking about the powers con-f-f-f, given to me by my p-p-press credentials. They got me into your school, and into y-y-your c-c-common room. I heard Harry giving Draco's wand to Margaret Wright for safekeeping, so I loitered in the common room and later went up to the dorm, using my sp-special powers as a f-female to get up the m-magical stairs. I took the wand and replaced it with another that I had r-removed from a h-hiding place for a g-good friend. I then messed up the room to cover my tracks. It was leading me to a good story, that's what a g-good reporter does."

"You surely don't think I'm stupid enough to let you off, with just that level of detail?" Hermione said, suddenly assuming a very nasty tone to her voice. "And don't try to convince me that you were just involved with the Malfoys: we know from Mrs. Goyle's antics that you were working with the Death Eaters, also. Azkaban awaits, my dear, and I think they will find a way to hold you."

"I-I'm not a Death Eater. T-they would have killed me. I didn't even really d-do anything for them. Yes, Lucius, but he said he's not really a Death Eater anymore, asked me to recover Voldemort's wand from where he had hidden it at H-Hogwarts."

"And, where was that?"

"Inside a suit of armor. But, before I left for Hogwarts, Thicknesse contacted me. He knew that I was in contact with Lucius, and he made me tell him about Lucius's plan. He said he wanted the wand, himself. He told me to go to Hogwarts and to retrieve the wand and to do exactly what Delores Umbridge or any of the Death Eaters told me to do. I had no choice. Thicknesse really would have k-killed me, and he's very good at finding people."

"How did Thicknesse know that Umbridge would be at Hogwarts?" I interjected, possibly breaking the flow of Hermione's questions, but I couldn't help myself.

"I don't know. He just said Umbridge had informed him that Lucius and I were plotting against him. He was very angry. Later, Umbridge tried to contact me, while we were at Hogwarts, but was having difficulty. She was being watched very closely. Professor McGonagall and you," pointing at Mom, "wouldn't leave her alone. Eventually, I was able to er, m-maneuver close to her, where the other two women couldn't see me, and Umbridge let me know that I should go to the Slytherin common room, to meet her. I went there, and I waited, but she never arrived. I searched for her, and saw all of you, with her body.

"I was very s-scared, because I knew that Thicknesse would blame me for the failure. I was also frightened that I would be caught with Voldemort's wand in my possession. I was trying to think how I could explain my failure to Thicknesse, and hoping if I somehow could s-smuggle the wand out of the school, that Thicknesse would forgive me for failing the second part of my mission. It wasn't my fault, Umbridge was supposed to t-tell me what to do. Then, Mrs. Goyle cornered me and said I was to follow her orders, or I would be k-killed.

"She said she had snuck into the Gryffindor common room and saw Harry Potter give a wand to a little girl to take home with her. She pointed the girl out to me and told me to switch Voldemort's wand for Draco's wand. Somehow she knew which wand it was. She said that Draco's wand was of no importance, so I decided to give it to the Malfoys, to stay on good terms with them. I found out that the girl was Margaret. I followed her and found that she wasn't carrying the wand, so it must be in her room. I followed some parents and students into Gryffindor and went up to Margaret's dorm and switched the wands. Later, I kept following Margaret, to see if she would be caught with Voldemort's wand. I saw her go back into Gryffindor, as most of the other students were lining up to leave, so I followed her in and trashed the rooms to throw suspicion on her. I saw that Voldemort's wand was gone from her room and knew she would carry it safely out of Hogwarts. I f-feared I'd have to hide in Gryffindor a long time, but another student came and went and that gave me the chance to escape. I didn't know how they would get the wand from Margaret, but then I saw Mrs. Crabbe bump her down on the Hogwarts Express and Mrs Goyle lifting Margaret up with a hand inside her robes. I knew the Voldemort wand had been successfully passed and was very surprised to learn later that Thicknesse was angry that he hadn't received the wand. That's the story."

"Why did you expect that Margaret could smuggle the wand out of Hogwarts without being detected?"

"I didn't really know. Mrs. Goyle just assured me that she had been told that Gryffindor girls would not be searched as they left the school."

"What about sending Pansy back to Hogwarts? Hermione prompted."

"Narcissa wanted Pansy to stay with Draco, both to protect him from danger, and because she knew how much Pansy hated Lucius. She was angry at Lucius and it was just a little way to tweak him. I knew Lucius wouldn't mind - he told me long ago that Pansy and the Bulstrode girl were his little spies. He really doesn't know how much Pansy hates him. He thinks he still controls her. I was to pass the message to Pansy, but she was late boarding the train, and I had already risked blowing my cover by asking one student where Pansy was. I'd never seen her before and wouldn't have been able to recognize her. So, I asked Professor Slughorn to pass along the message. He is an old friend of Narcissa's. This had the added advantage that Slughorn was seated with Margaret, and that provided further cover for me."

"How did you know where to find Narcissa?" I asked.

"I didn't. She sent her house Elf to deliver a message to me. I really know nothing more."

"Are you telling me," the Minister exploded, "that you conspired with three known Death Eaters, invaded a Hogwarts House, stole a wand, smuggled contraband, and trashed school property? And you think that makes you a good reporter?"

"I'm willing to do a lot to pursue a story and help a valued contact," she replied, calm restored, as she seemed to realize Hermione was not going to reveal her bug trick. "I hadn't viewed the Malfoys as super-dangerous. They were much more civilized than the other Death Eaters, and said they broke with the Death Eaters long ago. I was in so deep with Thicknesse from covering the Ministry while he was Minister of Magic that he knew my habits and where I might hide, and knew just how to threaten me, as Hermione might imagine.

"Now that I'm thinking more clearly, I can understand why McGonagall might be justifiably angry enough to exclude me from the first press conference, and I apologize for my attitude toward Mr. Potter and Mrs. Weasley, but I'm a reporter and if the new order is going to freeze me out, then I need to keep my access to the old order. I really am sorry. I acted out of fear, poor judgment, and compassion for the Malfoys' fears about their son's safety".

"I should certainly hope so!" declared Minister Shacklebolt.

"You should know," I couldn't stop myself from making one last comment, "that the mission you never learned about at Hogwarts was to murder Draco, with poison supplied by Umbridge."

The rest of the press conference was relatively dull, as Rita's questions lost their barb and stayed on the intended point of the meeting. She even repeated herself in declaring that she was sure Hermione would be very pleased to read the printed version of the interview.

"I'm sure I will," Hermione responded, "just as I'm sure that we'll talk further, later. For now, I want your notes from your visit to Hogwarts."

"Those are MY notes. A reporter can't be required to give up her research notes. You wouldn't understand them, anyway. I write short cryptic notations, just to jog my mind."

"I'm not part of the government. I'm just someone whose privacy you've invaded in the past, who wants to make sure you haven't done so, again. I'm sure that legally, I have no right to ask for your notes. I'm just an angry private citizen who will make your life a living Hell, if you don't give me those notes."

Rita hurriedly paged through her notebook, found the appropriate three pages, tore them out and threw them on the table in front of Hermione. Hermione perused them, one by one, neatly folded them and placed them inside her robes. "You're right, they are almost impossible to decipher and I don't seem to be mentioned."

The Minister still had a rather amazed look on his face as the reporters were finally ushered out. A Ministry photographer was summoned to take a photo, before the reporters departed.

"Don't get up quite yet," the Minister said sternly. "I have a few things I want to clear up, before we go on our tour. That press conference ended okay, but it certainly didn't start at all as I expected. Let me summarize what I think I just heard. Rita Skeeter was invited to Hogwarts to witness the Death Eater bodies being burned and ended up using the awesome 'power of the press' to invade your dormitory, steal and plant wands, and smuggle a special (which I interpret as Voldemort's) wand off campus. She delivered the Draco wand that killed Voldemort to Narcissa Malfoy. You knew Narcissa had stolen and was hiding Draco's wand and you just had a pleasant conversation with her, rather than contacting the aurors. Does that about cover it?"

"Don't answer that verbally," Harry said to us, slipping the Minister a note. I reached my hand, I thought unobtrusively, to a point an inch from Harry's arm.

{[amused chuckle] I knew you were going to do that. You have an insatiable nosiness, or perhaps it's more politic to say curiosity. Anyhow, the note says we don't trust his aurors, we didn't know as much as Hermione implied, part of the discussion was a bluff and a veiled threat to tell the Minister that Rita is an unregistered animagus. I told him that we know this for certain because years back she snooped on us by assuming the form of a beetle, and we caught her. I told him that I believe Thicknesse learned of her secret and threatened prison, but that we hoped Shacklebolt would keep the matter secret and profit from it at an appropriate time. Arresting Rita would serve no purpose, but he couldn't reasonably do nothing without alerting Bill, whom we suspect, so he should order her followed to see whom she contacts. I told him that Professor McGonagall asked us to help protect Narcissa and Draco and we were all pledged to secrecy. I end by begging him to simply announce after reading the note that 'I see Minerva vouches for Narcissa, so I'll let that matter drop, for now'.}

Having this secret background, I was totally unsurprised when the Minister parroted the words of Harry's note, adding that he would definitely be having a talk with Minerva, and instructing Bill to have Rita followed when she left the Ministry.

"I guess I didn't understand it all, but I'm not at all sure Minerva hasn't gone soft while looking after that Malfoy boy. She's not his substitute mother," the Minister said to us, in closing.

"Professor McGonagall believes reconciliation within the Wizard community can begin with the full conversion of Draco, Narcissa, and even Lucius, from the Death Eater side to our side. None of them fought in the final Hogwarts battle, although Draco did earlier in the day. Draco was unable to kill Dumbledore directly, and Draco knows Harry saved his life. Draco has been quite well behaved thus far, and we all think Narcissa's misdeeds are attributable to trying to help Draco. Narcissa and Lucius seem to be waging a custody battle over Draco," Hermione replied, concluding "that's all we know."

"He has NOT been completely well behaved!" Ron was indignant. "He tried to kill me with an asp. I don't understand why my family just passes that off as a harmless joke. I could have died. Draco is still the dangerous jerk he has always been. Without Goyle he's usually polite, but he hasn't really changed. Why am I the only one who sees this?"

Dad looked surprised and concerned. Hermione looked apoplectic, then covered her mouth with her hands, before finally moving them to the top of her head and speaking.

"I'm terribly sorry," Hermione apologized. "That snake thing was truly awful and you could have died. I shouldn't have given a blanket approval of Draco's new character. Please forgive me. I just wasn't thinking right."

Hermione seemed truly worried that she had messed up her relationship with my brother. I could see her point. Saying good things about someone who had possibly just tried to murder your boyfriend wasn't wise.

Nor was it wise to launch Shacklebolt's mind in this direction.

"I will definitely have a most serious talk with Headmaster McGonagall. I find it totally unacceptable for the children of my Deputy Minister to be placed in jeopardy, in order to coddle a junior Death Eater and his Slytherin girlfriend. I dont' want those two at Hogwarts."

I kept thinking 'please do something Harry, Mom, Dad, somebody'. This conversation had taken a very bad turn. While I was trying to think of something to say which might save the situation, Harry at least changed the topic.

"I brought Draco's wand," Harry said, "because I was hoping you would help us to set up an experiment to interlock this wand with Voldemort's and my wand with Voldemort's, in order to force Voldemort's wand to read out all the people he's killed. We'd try it ourselves, except I gave you Voldemort's wand".

"I've had good reason to be less trusting of supposedly reformed Voldemort supporters. I'm tiring of the gently, gently McGonagall approach," the Minister concluded. "Well, enough of that: let me show you the Ministry. At least your catching out Rita should get us some favorable press tomorrow. We'll start with Mr. Weasley's office - I'll bet you'd like to get a look at your Dad's new quarters."


	31. Chapter 31

**Chapter Thirty-One – A Ministry Tour and Shacklebolt's Favorite Eatery**

Dad's office was extremely big and elegant. Twenty foot square, with the same thick carpeting as his antechamber, a beautiful antique wood desk and soft leather guest chairs. The only incongruity was a Muggle surplus army cot, pushed up against a side wall, bearing enough rumpled blankets that Dad had clearly slept in it. Dad was a working Deputy Minister; his desk was piled high with papers. I was pleased to see a collection of intricate-looking metal gadgets on a side table. "Glad to see you have at least a little time to keep up with your interests," I said to him, pointing at the table.

"No, those aren't mine and I don't think they're of Muggle origin. I'm trying to find out what they are - could be Goblin devices. We confiscated them from Voldemort supporters, whom we arrested at the Ministry. This one," he said, picking up an open brass cube with visible gears inside it, "was found in Delores Umbridge's office. I have no idea what it does. These," scooping up several small plastic boxes from a shelf in the corner of his office, "are Muggle cell phones. Some of Voldemort's people used them to communicate. This pink one was found in Umbridge's desk. I've ordered an operating manual, but it hasn't arrived yet."

"Let me take a look at that," Hermione offered. I watched, as she played with the device, making its light come on and pushing buttons on its top surface. Hermione was smiling and seemed to be enjoying herself. It was clear that Dad would be ordering up a cell phone lesson from her. Finally, she stopped pushing buttons and just stared at the thing. "Wow!" she exclaimed, "I never would have taken Umbridge for a texter. Fortunately, she's also not a deleter. She has a couple messages that look like they're from Lucius Malfoy, and one that must be from a Death Eater, likely Thicknesse. I'll read that one to you first, 'Play Lucs alng but kll Drac'. Here are the Lucius messages. The oldest is 'where R U', that's from the day after Ginny ran her over. Two days later, 'im telling unless'. There are no other messages. If you're on good terms with the Muggle Prime Minister, their technicians and police could help you. They can trace cell phones. It might lead you right to Thicknesse. Do you want me to check the other phones?"

"Please do," Minister Shacklebolt said. "I see we need to get one of our Muggle-born recent Hogwarts graduates to go over the things we took from Voldemort's supporters. I think I know just the man. But since you're here, please tell us what else you can learn."

Hermione examined the other two cell phones. Of the first, she said, "unfortunately, this person wasn't a texter, but he did have an unanswered call from the same phone number as the Death Eater text on Umbridge's phone. That call was yesterday morning. No message was left."

She turned her attention to the third phone. "Ah, there is one stored text message. Umm, you're not going to like this one, Sir. It just says 'kill the minstr." I guess that's you. By the way, this is from the same phone as the Death Eater message on Umbridge's phone. It's from a day ago. Actually, yesterday evening. Whose phone was this?"

Dad looked at it and checked a written note on his desk.

"I don't know who it belonged to, Hermione. One of my auror guards found it hidden under a box next to a filing cabinet in the aurors' office at the basement lockup."

"This is very serious." Shacklebolt declared. "I'm going to increase and rotate my guard detail. Well, let me show you some more of the building, although I admit this takes some of the fun out of it".

"Before we move on, do you mind if I take a closer look at the other artifacts that you've collected, Mr. Weasley?" Hermione asked.

"Of course not, you've been very helpful so far."

Hermione studied the objects on the side table, scrutinizing each closely, pulling off pieces, and jabbing at them here and there with a pin that she pulled from her hair. "This looks like a very fancy Muggle wind-up alarm clock she concluded," from her study of the brass box with the gears. "But this is very strange, why would a wind-up clock need this little battery. She prized at its base and hammered it against the side of the table. "Sorry, Mr. Weasley, I would have used the floor, if it weren't carpeted. Ah, the bottom does come off." Hermione pulled out a block of clay, with thin wires protruding from it. The wires were short enough that she could only pull the clay a few inches out of the base.

"Now I know how they planned to replace the Giants after they gave up fighting. They're only good for pounding and smashing and stomping on things, anyway. I'm afraid, Minister, that this is plastic explosive and this whole thing is a time bomb. It's not a very big bomb, but it would totally destroy this office, and probably the ante-room as well. Anyone who activated it could have up to an hour to escape before it exploded."

"As much as they hate the Muggles, I never thought that they would use Muggle technology," the Minister gasped. "This is very serious, indeed. I realize Malfoy must come in contact with and use a lot of Muggle technology in his work in the Muggle City, but I just can't believe Thicknesse and Umbridge would have such things. They were such devout traditionalists. From here forward, we really don't know what we will face."

Hermione reviewed the rest of Dad's collection and noted a very sophisticated electronic watch, minus its strap, which was not a bomb but could, she said, be a part of one. What appeared to be a large brass rectangle, weighing almost ten pounds, turned out to have hidden screws, which allowed the top to be removed, revealing a bomb several times larger than the first one. Hermione had no idea what the final object was, but said it was harmless, as far as she could tell.

"I'm humbled," said Mr. Weasley. "I swore to the Minister that these were not Muggle articles."

"I'm beginning to suspect," Hermione concluded, "that even very knowledgeable Wizards just assume that if an object is brass, and very shiny and intricate, or looks very well crafted, that it is of Goblin origin. That's really not a compliment to the quality of Muggle British manufacturing skills. It would be easy to pass certain Muggle objects off as Goblin, if they had the right appearance."

The rest of the tour was fairly uneventful, until Harry suggested again to the Minister that he be allowed to conduct an experiment with Voldemort's wand. Harry led the Minister to a quiet corner and they chatted for several minutes, until the Minister finally shook his head 'yes'. He instructed one of his aurors, "Go fetch Voldemort's wand, Harry needs to have another look at it. Bring it to us in the Muggle artifact examination room." In a soft aside to Hermione he whispered, "that's the closest thing that we have to what you might call a laboratory."

He led us down two levels, to the corridor on which Dad's old office had been located. He guided us into a narrow side corridor, before we reached the old Dad office, and unlocked a rather solid looking door at the end of the corridor. When we went inside the room, we saw what Hermione said were a good collection of Muggle tools from about fifty years ago. Looking into the far corner of the room, at a large blue box with wires coming out of it, she said "that's newer. It's a portable electricity generator, and I see electrical tools and a few instruments on that bench next to it. This is definitely where we want to be for whatever tests we need to conduct in future. I'm not saying that this is even a decent shop or lab, by Muggle standards, my Dad had better in our basement, but I'm a little surprised the Ministry has even this much."

Shacklebolt looked very displeased by that comment.

We were exploring the room and its contents, as the auror returned, interrupting us, by clearing his throat. "I'm sorry Sir," he began, "but we appear to have mislaid Voldemort's wand. I have two of the aurors looking for it, but it may take a while."

"I suspect it may take a very long while," Harry replied.

The Minister was apologetic and more than a little annoyed. Harry apparently decided to strike while the Minister was off his equilibrium. "Do you have an archives room, Sir? We've been trying to find information on the original fifth House at Hogwarts, and have also been doing library research on, umm Occlumency".

"Of course," the Minister smiled. "I should have guessed that this lot would be more interested in our library and museum spaces than in fancy rooms. Although I see this room has certainly piqued your interest. You're welcome here at any time, of course. It certainly can't hurt to have the Wizarding community seeing you come to the Ministry to work. I think you'll find that we have some resources that go quite a bit beyond what Hogwarts can provide."

He led us to a very large room on the second floor, which apparently was the open library, where all Wizards could come to do library research. The library seemed to have about five times as many books as Hogwarts did. The Minister said our various discoveries had given him, and Arthur, a number of things to attend to, prior to taking us to dinner. He checked his pocket watch and told us to make ourselves at home in the library, that he would rejoin us in two hours. On his way out, I heard him tell the librarian to give us anything that we required.

"To entice you back another day, let me say that the Ministry has a curator, who would be pleased to show you our museum. If you are especially good, she might even allow you into the area where we store our greatest mysteries. It really is extremely secure. Somebody deliberately left it open, when you came looking for Harry's prophecy. You saw the area, but I'm sure that you didn't have time to truly appreciate its contents. Another day, eh?"

I had the distinct sense of being manipulated again, but was not about to waste this opportunity to explore the library. I suggested we split up to cover more ground.

"Hermione and I will look for more information on, umm, Nicholas Flamel. Harry and Ron can look for books on the history of Hogwarts and the Peverell family. Luna and Mom can see if they have visual archives that might have older paintings or drawings of Hogwarts. George and Neville can explore the rest of the library and see what else they've got that might interest to us. Let's do an initial search and compare notes about a half an hour before Dad and the Minister get back. I don't know if we'll be able to take things with us, but the Minister did say we should be helped in any way."

Hermione and I quickly found a book by Flamel and another book about Flamel. The Flamel book was three hundred years old, and not in English. We set that aside, planning to take it with us and ask Fleur to at least do a scanning translation for us. The book about Flamel was only forty years old, and was a biography, written in English. I put the book on the table in front of us, and we scanned it together, with Hermione turning the pages. We were looking for any reference to research on mental communication, and not finding any. There was an interesting section on what Flamel called 'magical engineering'.

We read this ten page section, word for word. It started with a description of the weak magical lines of force, which emanate from the Earth, being far stronger in some places than in others. The book said they were generally weak over water, unless the body of water was extremely shallow, such as a stream, which could actually conduct and focus the lines. In general, the magical force was weakest on land where there was very deep fertile soil or sand, with the rock at greater depth. Bodies of rock near the surface, especially if they were rich in metal ores or particularly certain crystals, such as quartz, were reservoirs where the force naturally accumulated and the lines of force were strengthened.

This was most true of rock of volcanic origin, since it arose from deep inside the Earth and contained tiny crystals. Apart from this, the force just seemed to be naturally stronger along certain geographical lines, regardless of how close to the surface or how massive the bedrock was. Places where the force was reportedly the strongest included the eastern portion of England and Scotland, much of Ireland, the area in France near Paris, the Black Forest and the mountains through eastern Austria and Switzerland, and certain volcanic islands off the coast of Greece.

The book stated that 'the ancient magical peoples found that certain of their most magically capable Wizards could 'see' these lines of force and locate the spots where they were brightest and strongest. They used large crystals and larger pieces of lodestone to shape the lines of force, constricting them and anchoring them in the stone. Flamel conducted experiments in a region of central Italy that had not previously been magically engineered by the ancients, to prove that the task could be undertaken, albeit quite slowly, with just naturally occurring rocks and crystals, and without the use of modern wands.

By painstakingly concentrating all of the magical force lines from a plot of rocky land, three miles on a side, Flamel and his team of volunteer Wizard students was able, in just over a year, to concentrate all of the magical force lines into a square a little less than a half a mile on a side, achieving a magical intensity at the center of this square that was twenty times stronger than the unengineered natural strength that they had found at the start of their experiment. It was confirmed that wands were much more effective within this square of concentrated magic than they were outside of it. Flamel returned to the site two years later and determined that the lines of concentrated magical force remained anchored in the bedrock, where he had left them.

In later experiments, Flamel found that a magical force detector, of his design, allowed the magical engineering task to be conducted up to five times faster than previously. Today, the best course of study in magical engineering is offered at Durmstrang, where Flamel taught from 1887 to 1903, before returning to Paris'.

"That's very interesting," Hermione said, "but not much use for what we're doing. We scanned the rest of the book, but found no reference to any experiments that were relevant to Harry and me. It was getting close to the time I had appointed to reassemble and compare notes. There were a few minutes to spare, but Luna and Mom had already arrived, carefully carrying a very old pencil drawing of the Hogwarts castle and another of the stables and gate, both dated 1487. "Look", said Luna, "one of the towers of the castle is even labeled "Peverell House" and the drawing of the stables shows a stone stairway on the side of the building nearest the path, that leads up to the second floor. You can just make out 'G..f..dor', written above the door, although it's a little smudged".

"That's great," I complimented, "and it pretty much solves that little mystery. We'll see what the boys came up with," that last comment prompted by the arrival of Ron and Harry. They were very impressed by the drawings. They said that what Mom had found agreed with a short unbound manuscript, "An Accounting of the Founding of Hogwarts", dating from 1513. It was only about a dozen pages of illuminated parchment, which had been rolled up in the archives, to which they had gained admittance only by mentioning they had specific approval from the Minister. They were delayed, while the curator checked with the head librarian. When she returned, she was quite eager to show them anything they wished to see. Ron reported that it was too delicate to be allowed out of its storage case, but that the librarian enchanted a slave pen, that wrote out a facsimile for them. It was not as beautiful as the original illuminated manuscript, since it was only in shades of grey to black, but it had all of the words and drawings of the original. Ron patted his chest, to let us know where this copy resided.

George and Neville were the last to return. They had apparently been captivated by the 'Muggle Studies' section of the library drawn to it, because the density of Wizard visitors was greatest there. "Did you find anything in that section that helps explain any of our mysteries?" asked Luna.

"Nah," George replied, "it was mainly modern Muggle books, and we were just able to begin going through them. We read part of a little mystery book, called Nancy Drew. The section also has a lot of 'Harlequin' books with bare-chest guys with outrageous hair on the covers. Some of them did not appear to be entirely factual. They also had a pervy Muggle magazine from the New World, called 'National Geographic' that showed a lot of dark-skinned girls with really enormous bare breasts and not a whole lot of clothes down below, either. I brought this copy, because it has a very detailed map of some of the Greek islands that Professor McGonagall spoke of."

He proudly handed his trophy to Hermione, who gave it a quick glance and said, "I see it also has a photo story about the fisher women of Sierra Leone."

"Might have, can't say that I particularly noticed," George replied, opening the publication to a detailed map of Crete. "I think McGonagall mentioned this island, particularly".

"I remember Nancy Drew," Hermione enthused. "My parents thought they weren't really worth reading, but I read all of them by the time I was seven. I haven't thought of them in years. It's as if they're from another world although, even at seven, I knew they didn't represent the real world. Still, strangely, up until the Battle of Hogwarts, it seemed to me that our Hogwarts Wizard world ran by Nancy Drew rules."

"What are the Nancy Drew rules?" I asked Hermione.

"Well, they were the rules that Edward Stratemeyer developed for his series of ghost-written adventure books for children and young adults. All the writers had to follow the code. Basically, children could not kill or be killed. They might fist fight, be captured and imprisoned, face imminent peril and the most dastardly of villains, but they could never be permanently injured or killed. Even the beautiful Nancy Drew could be captured by the most evil of hardened career criminals and murderers and never be at risk of any sort of sexual assault. I knew when Colin Creevey died that something fundamental had changed. It's like we had horcruxes protecting us and now they're gone.

"It makes me realize how many risks we've all taken. I'm afraid that we now live in what the Muggle on-line writers call a T-rated world. I felt a chill when I saw the Muggle bombs in Mr. Weasley's office, but I didn't know exactly why. Now I know. Everything has changed, and any of us could die. Forgive me. That may just have been childhood fears resurfacing. Anyway, to finish my memory, other than Nancy Drew, the Hardy Boys was the other main adventure series, but it was written for boys, who didn't read or think well enough to handle Nancy Drew."

"Dudley read The Hardy Boys, before Uncle Vernon said they were inappropriately foreign and colonial. Of course, Dudley was fifteen when he started reading them. Uncle Vernon insisted that he read the Children of the New Forest and the Horatio Hornblower series, but Dudley hated them. In the end, they compromised on James Bond."

"There weren't a lot of James Bond books, but perhaps Dudley didn't need many," Hermione surmised.

I felt a little uneasy about all this reminiscing about Muggle childhoods, knowing it was a part of Harry that I was unable to identify with. It was easier to equate his Muggle experiences to simply 'broom closet'. I interrupted them by suggesting, "The Minister will be back really soon. Let's see if we can take these books with us."

"Actually, we have about twenty minutes left," Hermione said. "I think we should try to find a book on the founding of the Ministry." Off we went to the curator who had helped Ron and Harry. Fortunately, this was a very important manuscript, and she knew exactly where it was. It turned out to be another short illuminated parchment, going to only seven sheets, titled "Founding Charter of the Ministry of Magic of Greater England". It carried a date of 1371. The curator set the charmed pen to work again. As we waited for it to finish its task, I asked Ron if he could give a quick summary of the manuscript on the founding of Hogwarts.

"Well, the plan to found Hogwarts dates back to 1413. The first Lord Montaigne had been granted the estate that includes Hogwarts, after noble service to the Muggle King in 1401. He had apparently defeated a band of the King's Muggle enemies and subdued unexplained raids upon the King's commerce in the region, which were traced to a tribe of centaurs. Lord Montaigne killed the centaur leader and the Montaigne clan forced the centaurs to lay down their arms. By 1407, he completed a formal treaty with the centaurs and a small group of unicorns, in which he pledged to shield them from the Muggles and allow them to live in a section of his forests, in return for their good behavior and assistance, 'from time to time, when called upon by me or my descendants'.

"It was a time of goodwill between the Montaigne clan and the other Wizards in the area, whom Montaigne permitted to sharecrop on some of his lands and to set up a small village, and the other magical creatures. It was also the largest tract of land in the British Isles that was under Wizard control, by a Wizard that the British King thought to be a British Lord, entitled to control the estate. When the Hogwarts founders and the Ministry were looking for a place to set up shop, the Montaigne estate was the natural location. The school was given the right to occupy the land, in perpetuity, for a fixed amount of gold to be paid each year to the family of Lord Montaigne. The founders of the school also pledged to keep the forest in which the magical creatures lived undeveloped in perpetuity and to 'defend it to the best of their resources from Muggle intrusion, while permitting the centaurs to rule over it'. In 1414 Lord Montaigne began construction of the current Montaigne castle, and the same work crews were used to construct Hogwarts. Hogwarts was finished in 1420 and the first class of students was admitted to its five Houses in 1421. That class consisted of '17 Muggle-born Wizards, 10 Muggle-born witches, 71 pure born witches, and 80 pure born Wizards'. Of the 'pure-born' students, 50 are said to have belonged to the Great Families.

"The rest is pretty much as McGonagall said. The manuscript notes that both the Montaignes and the other magical creatures were drawn to the location of his estate, because the 'magical force was greater here than anywhere else in the Isles'. The school was built atop the locus of the strongest magical force, above 'a large and ancient buried stone circle, left by the ancients'."

When Dad and the Minister arrived back in the library, we packed up the materials and copies which we had been allowed to take with us, along with our written notes from the drawings and manuscripts which we had to leave behind.

"Ah, Harry, I almost forgot to give you the book that I promised you, here you go lad." The Minister reached into his robes and pulled out a small leather-bound book with the gold-embossed title 'Your Taxes Made Simple and the Penalties for Non-payment'. "Not rousing reading," the Minister admitted, "but something every adult Wizard should know. Normally, you would have received your copy at the end of your seventh year, but you and Hogwarts have experienced disruptions. Well, we should be on our way. You can leave your robes in the lobby. We'll take a Ministry car to the restaurant."

As I had come to expect from the Minister, dinner was excellent. Harry and I shared something called 'chateaubriand for two', which was the tenderest, juiciest, and best flavored piece of meat that I had ever eaten. It was also a very big piece of meat. We had very fancy whipped potatoes, with sour cream, cheese, and chives, along with a sautéed combination of asparagus, cherry tomatoes, onion, and lemon juice. We had multiple glasses of red wine to wash it all down. I drank my wine under the watchful eye of Mom, while Dad focused on the conversation.

The Minister asked if we had been successful in our library quest. Harry reported that he had found a very informative old manuscript on the founding of Hogwarts, giving the title for the Minister's benefit. The Minister said that this was a very old and long-lost document, unearthed by Scrimgouer from the bowels of the Ministry's subterranean archival storage. "I just saw that document myself two days ago," the Minister declared. "I think Harry is among perhaps only a couple dozen Wizards to see that particular document, at least in the last four centuries. I had planned to send a copy to Professor McGonagall for the Hogwarts archives."

I was a little tipsy, and thankful that we had a huge boat of a car, well actually two huge Ministry cars, to take us back to the Ministry. Harry had enough presence of mind to ask, as he saw the Minister peeling off a big wad of Muggle money to pay for our dinner, "could we have some of that Muggle money to equip ourselves for an overseas trip that McGonagall wants to send us on?" The Minister obligingly peeled off ten more bills and handed them to Harry.

"If you were a formal Ministry employee, you and I'd have to go through a small stack of paper to disburse this money and account for how you spend it. Under the circumstances, I think it best we keep arrangements informal."

We entered the Ministry via an adjacent underground garage and went to the Entry Hall to retrieve our robes. Unfortunately for the Minister, he was forced to deal with more bad news, in his slightly tipsy state. An auror approached us as soon as we strode into the Entry Hall.

"I'm sorry to have to report this to you, Sir, but Rita Skeeter is dead. One of our aurors, Tom Stowe, was tracking her, when she tried to elude him by transforming into a beetle. He tried to trap her, and as she tried to flutter away, I'm afraid he stepped on her. He was drawing attention, so he had to slip out of the area and apparate from a sheltered alley. I'm afraid when Rita's transformation reverses, which it likely already has, the Muggle police will be confronted with a very messy corpse with a bloody, size 90 shoeprint on it. I don't think confunding the Muggles is necessarily a viable option, although I'm organizing a team to begin action. I fear you are going to have to intercede with the Muggle Prime Minister."

"She was a nasty, treacherous bitch," Mom said, "but that is a horrible way to die. It may be impossible to get her body back, and her family will have nothing to bury."

"Please tell me that she at least had time to file her article before she died," the Minister blurted out, proving just how tipsy he was.

"I'm fairly sure she did," the auror replied.

"Well, thank you for coming to visit me," the Minister dismissed us. We gathered up our robes, and Bill apparated us back to Hogwarts.

We arrived at the front gate, which was promptly opened by Professor Flitwick. "The headmaster requests your presence for a meeting in her office. She promises not to keep you long. Your presence is not required, Bill, but she asked if you would check out the area around the gate to Hogsmeade. There was a report of a curse being fired at our wall in that area."

We followed the path, as we watched Bill trot off across the grounds, doubtless aware that, for some unknown reason, he was being sent on a wild goose chase to get him out of the way.

As we walked across the grounds to the castle, Mom commented "I used to think Harry and the rest of you were just paranoid about the Minister's auror guard, but now I'm beginning to think that the Minister and your Dad would be safer if they fired their whole guard and randomly picked a dozen patrons from The Three Broomsticks to watch after them. Voldemort's wand and Rita Skeeter in the same day, and your father's office full of bombs that he knows nothing about. I used to be comforted, despite our separation, by the illusion that he couldn't be anywhere safer than the executive suite at the Ministry, but then I used to think you were safe at Hogwarts. A mother is sometimes the last to know. I have to stop at the burrow, when I get a chance, and bring back my kitchen clock."

I tried to reassure Mom that Dad was really safe, but the best my lame tipsy brain could produce was, "I don't think Dad is in danger, the phone message said it was the Minister they were trying to kill." Even in the near dark, I knew Mom's look said she regretted allowing me my third glass of wine. Before I knew it we were at the gargoyle, and whipping out our little cards. Up the stairs we went, it being a steep climb, with the steps still immobile.

"I won't keep you from bed," the headmaster said. "I just wanted to find out how the meeting with the Minister went, and to congratulate Ginny for earning one of the highest scores ever on the NEWT divination exam. If she weren't the Deputy Minister's daughter, I fear she might be accused of cheating."

"Not me," I said, "but as I was taking the exam, I couldn't help thinking someone had cheated on my behalf, by selecting questions that were absolutely tailored to my strengths. I wrote six pages on the discussion we had the other night in your apartment, headmaster."

"I was just teasing you, but that certainly is a coincidence," Professor McGonagall replied. "I certainly hope you didn't quote Trew or me by name. Now, who is going to give me a quick summary?"

Harry raised his hand and proceeded in rapid fire "We endorsed the Minister. Rita Skeeter asked nasty, pro-Death Eater questions. Hermione and Ginny jumped her with implication of her special talent and bluffed her into revealing that she was initially assisting the Malfoys, but Thicknesse forced her to work with him: she recovered Voldemort's wand, switched it for Draco's, trashed the dorm, asked Slughorn to send Pansy back to Hogwarts, and delivered Draco's wand to Narcissa, but, apparently because she missed her connection with Umbridge, never received the assignment or poison with which she was to kill someone, who was probably Draco, based upon the text message. Umbridge had the Pansy picture because Rita didn't know Pansy. Mrs. Goyle was involved: she did overhear me giving the wand to Margaret, and instructed Rita what to do. The Ministry has lost the Voldemort wand, and an auror stepped on and killed Rita Skeeter when she was in her bug form, but not before she got to file a glowing report of our interview. We had a great dinner and the Minister gave me a wad of Muggle cash to buy supplies for our trip to the Continent. We had a great time in the Ministry library and found manuscripts on the founding of Hogwarts and the Ministry. The Minister will send you a copy of the Hogwarts manuscript, but Ron already has one. Oh, and Hermione found two Muggle bombs in Arthur's private office. The Ministry had collected them and Muggle cell phones from the offices of Death Eater supporters. One cell phone had a message to 'Kill the Minister'. That's all that happened."

"Well, that's quite a report and it gives me a lot to think about. Good night all. I'd offer you a sherry, but I see the Minister has already given you all quite enough wine. You won't see me at breakfast or lunch tomorrow, but be in my classroom at 1:00 P.M. for my next history lecture."


	32. Chapter 32

**Chapter Thirty-Two – How Can You Protect Us From Something Like That?**

The next morning being free time, we planned a quick breakfast and then back to our common room to discuss the mysteries that were not fully resolved, the threat to the Minister and Dad, our travel plans, and the two prophecies. The Slytherins and Hagrid delayed us with their tales of an even more substantial, large green snake with 'evil red eyes, which just pierced through your soul,' which had bedeviled them all night. It had taken to taunting them and passing through their bodies, leaving them with a creepy cold sensation and a feeling of being thoroughly violated.

"We couldn't sleep. We had to keep herding it into an unused dorm room. It took two of us to keep that thing contained," Hagrid reported. "Ghosts don't usually bother me, but this one opened its mouth, showed its fangs and tried to envelop my whole head, even though it had to broaden itself out and get all wispy. I'm going to report this to Professor McGonagall, when she returns."

We told Hagrid that this was certainly the proper course of action and that Professor McGonagall would decide what was to be done. As Hagrid and the Slytherins talked, we ate, so at the first lull in the discussion, we grabbed our mail and left. We brought back to the dorm what I'll always regard as the 'Rita Skeeter Memorial' edition of The Daily Prophet, along with what became known generally as the 'spitting on the dead' edition of The Quibbler.

The banner headline of the Prophet read:

**Beloved Reporter Rita Skeeter Brutally Murdered**

**Muggle Police Seek Killer**

**Crushed Body Too Gross For Photo**

**Ministry Has No Comment On Attack – 'It is Under Investigation'**

**Read The Final Interview by This Cherished Reporter – (See back cover)**

The Bold-Faced Headlines of The Quibbler Had a Different Tone:

**Reporter Rita Skeeter Revealed As Fraud**

**Rival Reporter Admits to Trashing Hogwarts Dormitory, Hiding Voldemort Wand**

**Rita Skeeter Allied With Malfoys and Death Eaters**

**Read Our Account of Ministry Press Conference – (See rear cover**)

We passed around the several copies of each paper. Every one of us read each of them cover-to-cover, the first time that had ever happened for any of us, except for the long train rides home from Hogwarts.

Rita Skeeter's reportage of the press conference was highly complimentary, to both the Minister and Dad, as well as to us. The Prophet gave the article far more space than they normally would devote to anything favorable to us. This was, after all, the last major piece by their most popular reporter. It might be a tad distasteful to publisher Barnabas Cuffe, but this was his last chance to score the big bucks from Rita's quill.

Hermione came across as a mystery-solving genius, and the Minister as stern and highly intelligent, with a bright new platform. There wasn't all that much on Dad, but he came across as warm and friendly. Harry's description was highly noble - the sensitive, troubled and selfless warrior, reluctantly killing Voldemort for the good of all Wizardry and now determined to forsake the wand. I thought I came off as bright, and loyal, if a little pushy. Despite totally trashing Mom at the meeting, Rita depicted her as a warm, deeply caring mother, who instinctively threw herself into the combat to save helpless me, proving that 'domestic Witches could make the transition from kitchen to battlefield as easily as they change robes'.

I think Mom was the heroine of the piece, with Rita fairly gushing over her strength, skill, bravery, and the intelligence and diligence required to be a Hogwarts professor. If you read through the whole article, buried in the second and third paragraphs from the end was a brief mea culpa, in which she almost admitted to having committed criminal acts, mostly to save the family of a friend, but also under the duress of the surviving Death Eaters. She concluded with her own personal endorsement of Minister Shacklebolt and Arthur Weasley "who has been far more effective as Deputy Minister than some of my sources had feared when he was appointed to the post."

Fortunately, The Quibbler did not go into chapter and verse of Rita's initial questions, simply referring to some of them as crude and off-topic. Her confession to us was printed virtually verbatim, with nary a hint that Rita had been effectively coerced into making it. Mr. Lovegood gave a glowing review of the comments made by the Minister and Dad prior to our arrival, and the better comments from our explanation of our endorsement. We all came off very well in the article.

What would cause controversy for weeks to come, as well as some loss of readership, was the title article in which Xenophilius basically cataloged Rita's lies, bloopers, misquotes, exaggerations, and her unconvincing justifications for her contentions that Voldemort had not returned, that he was not a threat, and that the Thicknesse Ministry had the best interest of all Wizards at heart. Xenophilius claimed that these collectively made up the sum and substance of Rita's career. The twenty percent of readers who canceled thought this sullied a renowned journalistic figure, who they wanted to remember fondly. The other 80% of his loyal readers declared this edition to be the finest example of Wizard journalism in the last century. In any event, this edition caused such a stir that it went to seven printings. The money Mr. Lovegood made from this edition, on top of the one with his exclusive coverage of the Hogwarts endorsement press conference, earned him more than he normally made in a year.

"Future students of Wizard journalism will mark this as an epic day," Neville concluded. "I can imagine a whole course on Rita Skeeter. I may write the book myself.

"I think we've tied up a lot of loose ends, but we've added a whole lot of questions about the aurors and the Death Eaters' adoption of Muggle technology. Before we move on to those new things, I'd like to hear everyone's thoughts on how the Goyle/Crabbe disruptions relate to Rita's story, and what the whole situation tells us about Professor Slughorn. He'll be gone by the time we return from our trip, so anything we need to raise with him has to be done quickly. He leaves Hogwarts next Wednesday, and he hasn't said where he can be contacted."

"I don't fully understand the Goyle/Crabbe disruptions," Hermione admitted. "I think the initial problems on the train were a cover for the search of Margaret's luggage and person: they clearly believed that she had carried Voldemort's wand past the aurors, Elves, and Professors, whom McGonagall had assigned to screen the departing students, parents, and luggage. I don't know why they would have expected to be able to smuggle the wand through, although perhaps they thought Margaret would merit only a cursory review. It's troubling how certain Rita was that Margaret wouldn't be searched. The ruckus these ladies created at Hogwarts would have aided in the smuggling endeavor, by throwing off the schedule and reducing the personal inspections by adding confusion and reducing time. It certainly also gave the ladies time to conduct mischief, while the rest of the school was at the Memorial Service. But with Rita's confession, we no longer have any unexplained mischief left from that time period.

"So, what were the ladies doing after they left the service? They obviously went to a lot of effort to give themselves an opportunity to do something. Perhaps there was something else, besides the Voldemort wand, which they had to get off campus, or someone they needed to contact. The only obvious person I can think of for them to want to contact is Umbridge, but she was guarded the whole time and Luna reported no attempts to approach the infirmary. It's natural to assume the ladies might want to contact one of the Slytherins, but they had full access to them earlier in the day and could have visited, and probably did, the Slytherin common room. I suppose they could have contacted one of the aurors manning the main gate. That would allow them to arrange for Margaret to be inspected and passed by an auror who was friendly to their side. We'll have to find out which aurors were involved in screening the students."

"There is still one piece of unexplained mischief," I said. "We don't know who freed the Carrows and trashed the Ravenclaw common room. Perhaps the ladies wanted to contact that person. One Ravenclaw wouldn't have been missed at the service, and it would be harder for the ladies to make unobserved contact earlier in the day with a Ravenclaw than with a Slytherin."

"Another possibility," Harry responded, "is that there was something left at the school by the prior administration that would have been harmful to them if it fell into our hands. The ladies had a free opportunity during the service to roam the school and destroy whatever needed destruction. There are a lot of possibilities. I don't think we have enough evidence to solve this particular puzzle with logic. So, if I can move us on to another of Neville's questions, is there anything further that we need to pursue with Slughorn?"

"There is still one more question," I diverted back to the prior discussion. "Why did Malfoy's man attack Filch to steal his box of wands? Lucius must have known Filch had all the wands that were collected, and also expected to find one he was searching for among that collection. We know Harry inspected Filch's collection, but what if Lucius had reason to believe somebody had added a wand, after Harry checked them? He couldn't have thought Draco or Pansy would have put a wand there, because he didn't mention that in his note. They were to take the wand to Hogsmeade."

"One of us should talk to Filch and see if any wands were turned in later than the day after the battle," Harry responded. "Now, any suggestions on Slughorn?"

Hermione was quick to respond. "I don't think Slughorn would cooperate with, or even meet with, anyone whom he considered an active Death Eater. They have to realize that he was the source of our information about Voldemort's horcruxes. It's even possible that he, rather than Draco, is the person Umbridge was meant to kill. And on that subject, why didn't one of the two ladies instruct Rita on the second half of her assignment? Surely, they would have known. Back to Slughorn, he apparently doesn't see Narcissa as a hazard to himself. He might be able to shed additional light on Narcissa's actions and future plans. We've assumed that the leverage she is seeking over the Death Eaters is the two wands, but it could be more than that. I think that's enough of a reason to have a talk with him. I also want to ask him what he knows about the accidental formation of horcruxes, as Voldemort did with Harry, and what the effect of too many horcruxes would have been on Voldemort. It seems Slughorn knew more about horcruxes than even Dumbledore. Nobody has ever asked him how he came upon that information."

"Enough talk, time for action," George prodded. "Our next step is to confront Slughorn, and I suggest we tackle that now. Get out your map Harry, and we'll see where he is."

Harry pulled out the Marauder's Map and spread it out on a table. We gathered around and searched for Slughorn. After a few moments, Luna announced that she had found him in the potions classroom. As we were about to set out for that spot, I suggested, "I think we're likely to learn more from Slughorn if fewer of us go to see him. I think Harry and Hermione have the best chance. While they're doing that, Ron and I can go talk to Filch. I see that he's in his office."

As we were about to set off, Harry suggested to the others that they spend the time pulling together a shopping list and packing list for our trip to the Continent and Australia. "I was thinking perhaps some cell phones and chargers should be on the lists, so that we can communicate with the Ministry. A portable generator for Hogwarts would be nice, and we'll likely need air travel tickets to Australia, since I don't want to have to apparate to Australia with Bill, and none of us can apparate there".

"No problem, Harry", Hermione piped in. "I was in Australia with my parents and can take us there".

"Well, no need for plane tickets, then," Harry said, leading Hermione out of the common room.

Ron appeared slightly rebellious to be going off on an assignment that had been chosen for him by his little sister. Perhaps he was simply no happier at the thought of tackling Filch than I was. For whatever reason, we walked to Filch's office in silence. As we were about to knock on the door and enter, Ron drew me aside, moving us about ten feet back up the corridor. "Sorry, I just thought of something. Remember when Professor McGonagall took us up to her apartment off the third floor? She used a large, antique-looking brass key to open the door. I thought it looked sort of familiar and it just struck me why it did. It reminds me of the key that Umbridge had in her pocket. I assumed it was her house key, but she didn't bring anything with her that she wouldn't need at Hogwarts. She was headmaster here, so she'd know about a lot of rooms. She'd even have had her own apartment. What if she planned to use the key to gain entry to a room here? I stopped us before we went in, because I thought it wouldn't be a bad idea to ask Filch if he keeps keys for the school, and to ask him to check if any are missing. That might be what the person who attacked him was looking for."

"Not a bad idea at all, in fact, I think it's brilliant," I congratulated Ron. "We definitely should ask him about that."

We walked back to the office, and I knocked on the door. After a moment, I heard Filch yell "enter", and enter we did. He was less than thrilled to see us, but softened when I inquired whether he felt fully recovered from the Death Eater's attack. Happily, he did.

Mr. Filch didn't challenge our right to ask about the wands. "As a matter of fact," he replied, "there were two wands that were turned in after I gave the inventory to Potter. You can see here, on my original list, where I added the entry. I didn't know who the owners were, but I described the first as 'long willow rod, sized for a Wizard, peacock core' and here's the second, I described it as 'a rowan wand, with a phoenix feather as the core'. That's very rare. You see few wands that use phoenix feathers and even fewer made of rowan. It was also slender. See here, where I wrote 'probably a Witch's wand'?"

"That's very useful information", I responded. "Professor McGonagall will be very pleased to learn that. Do you remember who turned in the wand?"

"Of course I do. They were the last two that I received, so it stands to reason that I would remember. Those wands were turned in by Draco Malfoy. He said that Professor McGonagall had asked George Weasley and him to scour the grounds, looking for Draco's own missing wand. He said he didn't find his wand, but found this rowan one shoved into the ground behind a bush near the entry stairs, and the willow one behind a cabinet in the Entry Hall."

"Thank you, very much", I said with unfeigned sincerity. "There was one more question, related to the day that you were so brutally attacked. We wondered if the attacker might have been seeking some of the school's keys. You do have custody of the spares, don't you?"

"I have some, the headmaster has others, and for quite a few doors, we don't have any key, let alone a spare. There are several rooms that have been abandoned because we can't get the door open. I can check to see if any keys are missing. Stop back later in the day and I'll let you know what I find. Your boyfriend could learn a few things from you, he's not nearly as polite as you are."

I thanked him again, as did Ron with reluctance, suggesting the attitude that Filch had come to expect from Harry and my brothers.

We returned to the common room ahead of Harry and Hermione. Luna and George already had a fairly long list of things to take with us. They were preparing for a lot of contingencies. I saw 'Wizard's tent' several items down the list. I was reading down the list, when Harry and Hermione returned.

"How'd it go?" asked Ron.

"Well, as you might expect," Hermione replied, " Horcruxes are still a contentious issue with Slughorn. He's not at all happy to be regarded as the source of Voldemort's 'how to' instructions or as the guy who ratted on him. He said that there isn't really a lot known or written about horcruxes, but that it was his understanding that Voldemort was pushing the outer bounds with seven horcruxes. Each time that he divided his soul, it became a little less stable, so the possibility of accidentally losing a piece of himself each time he committed murder increased with each horcrux. He said that the danger of splitting his soul would increase along with the level of glee he felt for each particular killing.

"He was convinced that you couldn't have been the last horcrux, because we know Nagini must have come later. So he was less stable during the Battle of Hogwarts, than when he first tried to kill you. Slughorn suspects you were the last horcrux, prior to Nagini. He also said that since you and Voldemort appear to have been strongly interconnected, that the most likely times that another accidental horcrux could have formed, were, in his order of likelihood from top to bottom, when he killed you in the forest, when you dueled in the grave yard, and when you killed him.

"Slughorn learned of horcruxes as a student from an old book on dark magic, written a little after 1700, by a Central European named Orest Krum. He says that the book was written in German and that he found it in the restricted section of the Hogwarts library, and appropriated it for a term. He said that after Harry's questions to him regarding horcruxses, he went to the library to relocate the book but it was no longer there. He could find no record of its removal. Not knowing when it had vanished, he feared that Tom Riddle had stolen it. It seems we are far from the first students to raid books from that collection. One most interesting fact: that book by Krum identified the master of the horcrux as none other than Hogwarts co-founder Salazar Slytherin.

"On the other matter, Slughorn admits giving the message to Pansy's friend, saying that Narcissa wanted Pansy to stay with Draco. He says he is an old friend of the family, and that it struck him as a harmless request, given what he describes as 'Narcissa having practically completely broken down emotionally and being totally distraught from her fear that Lucius would spirit Draco away from Hogwarts and lead him to his death'. He says he felt compelled to do whatever he could to soothe the poor wounded Narcissa. He feels somewhat badly about it now, given all that has happened, but was convinced at the time that he was following the only right course.

"I asked him how he knew about Narcissa's concerns, and he said he had received an owl from her, just before the train was scheduled to depart. He said he would send us a very strangely colored owl, which we would recognize as soon as we saw it, and that we could use that owl to communicate with him, in extremis. He refused to tell us where he would go. He said his safety depended upon secrecy and that he undoubtedly would be moving around a lot. He said Harry would understand. Did you have anything to add, Harry?"

"I really don't think so. That last comment was a reference to how Dumbledore found him squatting in the house of a vacationing Muggle. Slughorn is able to hide among Muggles. I don't believe Slughorn knew anything else. I think we need a conscious Umbridge to answer our remaining questions."

We reviewed the shopping and packing lists, and I summarized the meeting with Filch. Everyone was really pleased with Ron for raising the issue of the keys. Ron noticed that Hermione didn't join in the general congratulations and appeared concerned.

After a long pause, she said, "That is really strange about the keys. Of course, Ron could be mistaken and the key that Umbridge had really was her house key. She certainly didn't bring extra things with her, but if she planned to return directly home, she would have needed to have her house key. What concerns me is this: if Ron is right, then Professor McGonagall should have instantly recognized that Umbridge had a Hogwarts key in her pocket. Yet, she didn't mention it to us. I think we need to get Umbridge's key and compare it to the Hogwarts keys. If it really is a Hogwarts key, perhaps Filch can tell us which door it opens."

It was time for lunch, so we headed down to the Great Hall. Everyone was there, except Professors McGonagall and Slughorn. Pansy and Draco seemed less bubbly than they had of late, not that they were fighting or angry with each other, but rather that Pansy seemed overly tired and even a bit bored. Draco wondered where Professor McGonagall was. Harry responded that she hadn't said what she was doing this morning, but had promised to be in her classroom at 1:00 to give us her next history installment. The promise of that did not seem to excite Pansy. Being headmaster apparently had its privileges. In Professor McGonagall's absence, the quality of the food had diminished. Even the bread was not fresh.

We had a lot of things that we could talk about, but very little that could be said with Draco at the table. We started chatting about what to expect from the history lecture, but that did not turn out to be a hot topic. Eventually Draco just stepped into the vacuum, "I read about your meeting with the Minister and the murder of Rita Skeeter. I want to know if you know any more than what was in the papers. She was close with my parents, so somebody attacking her is a worry, especially since in her report of the meeting she mentioned something that sounded like she was taking responsibility for getting my lost wand from Hogwarts to my mother."

"I don't know if this will make you more or less worried," Harry replied, "but we admitted to the Minister after Rita left the meeting, that we knew that Rita was an animagus, who could assume the form of a beetle. We implied that we would spill her secret to the Minister, and that is why she confessed her involvement.

"She said a bit more in person than what she wrote in the Daily Prophet. What Luna's father published is so accurate, it's like he wrote down what she said, word for word. Anyhow, the Minister assigned an auror to follow her and he reported back that Rita transformed into a bug, and that in trying to capture her, which certainly wasn't the assignment that the Minister had given him, he accidentally stepped on her and squashed her. I'm not at all sure the auror didn't deliberately murder her, to keep her quiet. I had the impression that she knew even more than she was telling.

"Apparently both your parents were in contact with her, but she was threatened by Thicknesse to act on his behalf. We think Thicknesse intended for Umbridge to pass the poison she was carrying on to Rita, so Rita could poison someone. You and I are the likeliest targets. So, be careful. I certainly know I intend to be extra cautious. We also discovered a text message on Umbridge's cell phone saying 'kill Draco'. It seemed to be from a Death Eater, judging from other messages from that same cell phone. It could even have been from Thicknesse."

Draco just sat there, with a look on his face that suggested he was trying to decide what to say and how to say it. "I'm the likely target. Whenever he came to the house, Thicknesse gave me dirty looks, and he didn't seem to like my parents much, either. I think Dad got along better with Fudge and Scrimgeour. I don't usually read Lovegood's paper. Could someone lend me a copy?" Luna smiled as if she had recruited a new subscriber, before passing her copy to him. "Is there anything else that I need to know?" Draco asked.

Now it was Harry's turn to pause and take a moment to look at us. I didn't even know what he was asking us to assent to, so I touched his thigh {[uncertainty/relief] I'm glad you did that. Should I tell him about the bombs? He might be the target for a bombing.}

I took my hand away and when Harry looked my way, gave what I hope was an inconspicuous 'yes' nod.

"This is top secret, so don't mention it to anyone. The only person I've told is Professor McGonagall. When the Ministry was cleaning out Umbridge's office, they found a fairly powerful and quite sophisticated Muggle time bomb. The good news for both of us is that, for whatever reason, Umbridge decided not to bring the bomb to Hogwarts with her. She could have set the bomb with up to a one hour delay."

Draco's jaw just hung open, while Pansy blurted, "how are you going to protect us from something like that?"

"I'm not at all sure that we can," was Hermione's answer.


	33. Chapter 33

**Chapter Thirty-Three – A History of the Wand**

This heated exchange had delayed us enough that we had just a minute to spare when we arrived at Professor McGonagall's classroom. The door was unlocked, so we went in and took seats at the front of the room. Professor McGonagall was not in evidence, but Professor Binns had already occupied the front row center seat position. That made seating a tad awkward. Two of us had to sit on one side, between Binns and the Slytherins, while the remaining Gryffindors sat on the other side of Binns. Sensing the problem, Harry sat down next to Draco, so I sat between Harry and Binns.

Professor McGonagall arrived a minute later. "Sorry to be a little late, I've had a busy morning, but all my errands have been completed and I can give you my full attention. Lest I forget, I want to speak to Mr. Ronald Weasley and Mr. Malfoy in my office, right after this lecture." We all looked at Ron. He spread his hands in confusion. Seeing that gesture, McGonagall focused a look upon him, which screamed 'you know exactly what you did wrong!' She then gave Draco a long look, before turning her attention to the rest of us and looking at Hermione as if nothing at all was wrong. I was trying to figure out what was wrong, as McGonagall began her lecture.

"The topic of today's lecture is wands. I'm sure you've all been thinking a lot about wands, especially since you all witnessed the exchange between Voldemort and Harry. That should have raised questions about some wands recognizing their owner. I'm guessing that Draco never realized that the famous Elder Wand or Death Stick, which was created by the Peverells and used in turn by Grindelwald, Dumbledore, and Voldemort, thought for a time that it belonged to him.

"No, I can't say I knew anything about that until Voldemort decided he could increase the wand's strength by killing me."

"This famous wand now belongs to Mr. Potter, here, although I understand he has taken that responsibility rather lightly and has allowed others to play with it as a toy." With this, she looked straight into my head and then gave George a glare.

"Harry at last came to his senses and hid the wand where no Wizard will find it, in the hope that it will never see its owner bested and will be merely an ordinarily good wand if rediscovered after Harry's death – hopefully a very long time from now. I am surprised that Harry has missed obvious opportunities to announce that the Elder Wand is no longer in his possession. That sort of defeats the benefit of hiding it."

That seemed an insult wrapped in a public service announcement. Cut off here at Hogwarts, I doubted that the Slytherins could even spread the word.

"You've also witnessed the lengths some Wizards have gone to in order to acquire Voldemort's wand and Draco's original wand. Our Mister Filch was even brutally attacked by somebody who wanted his collection of loose wands from the Battle of Hogwarts. So, if you are ever going to be receptive to this particular lecture, now is certainly the time."

"Many students, and even adult Wizards, for some silly reason, convince themselves that a wand is needed to perform magic. This is simply not true. If each of you, and especially those of you raised by Muggles, thinks back to your early childhood, before you got your first wand from Ollivander and before you set foot in Hogwarts, I'm sure you'll recall an instance where you performed magic without a wand. Harry, surely you have an example."

"Yes. The first time that I knew that I had performed magic was when I went to the zoo with the Dursleys. First, I found that I could talk to a snake and it seemed to understand what I was saying. Then, I hoped that the glass protecting my cousin Dudley from the snake would disappear, I know this sounds really mean years later, and I was as surprised as Dudley, when Dudley fell through the glass into the snake pit. I protected him from the snake and invented a story, but I had definitely performed magic."

"Very good, Harry, or rather… bad Harry, but a very good example. Very good, because when you first sat in my transfigurations class and I gave you a simple transfiguration to perform with your wand, you took a whole class period to get it half right. Yet what you did without a wand, and as an untutored child, was a more difficult transfiguration. Think about that: before you came to Hogwarts you could do things without a wand that we then had difficulty teaching you to do with your wand. And yet, if we disarm even an adult Wizard by taking away their wand, they think of themselves as defenseless and without magical power.

"As another example, we all saw Professor Snape's memory of Harry's mother floating from the swing. Well, Pansy and Draco didn't see it, but you may trust me that it happened. Now compare that to the problems some of you had initially trying to levitate yourselves with your wand, or getting your broom to lift you off the ground. The truth is, you don't need your wand as much as you think you do. Just as you learned to perform spells, without pronouncing them aloud, you can perform magic without a wand. Hermione, can you give us an example of performing magic as a child, before you had a wand or knew that you were a Witch?"

"Yes. The most significant example that I can remember is that when I was riding my bicycle very fast one winter and tried to stop at the end of my street. There was ice on the street and I couldn't stop, and I was going to hit a car. I remember closing my eyes and feeling myself moving up, off the seat of the bicycle. The car smashed my bike, but I floated above the car and gently landed all the way on the other side of the road. I looked back and saw that I had traveled a path that was totally impossible."

"That's a good example, in both senses. Did any of the Wizard-raised have a similar example of an early magical experience?"

Surprisingly, Pansy was the only volunteer. "I remember when I was nine years old, I climbed over a neighbor's fence to get a toy I had lost. I didn't realize that the three pit bulls inside the fence weren't chained that day and they all came running and snarling to attack me. I was too scared to run, or scream, or even raise my arms to protect my face. I just stared in horror, and just as they were almost upon me they all stopped and behaved as though I had thrown boiling water in their eyes. They rubbed their faces in the grass and then went whimpering to the far corner of the yard. They didn't bother me at all as I climbed back over the fence."

"Well," McGonagall concluded, "with those experiences it should not surprise you at all that magical creatures can perform magic without a wand. In fact, as far as we can tell, the first wand was not used until about 1300 years ago, and then it was little more than a stick that the Wizard used to help aim his magic, not an integral part of the magic. The first purpose-made wands, with something approaching the complexity of those that we use today, did not appear in Britain until Mr. Ollivander's great-great-great brought it with him from France, shortly after the Norman Conquest, which was in 1066. So, perhaps up until 1100, all of the magic in Britain was performed without a wand. I can assure you, they had Wizards in those times that were every bit as powerful as the Wizards of today. Merlin without a wand would not be overmatched by Voldemort with the Elder Wand. In a sense, we have been educated to believe that our wand is necessary for magic.

"I should note that virtually every wand used in Britain has been made either by Mr. Ollivander, using techniques and secrets passed from father to son, for many, many generations. Unfortunately Mr. Ollivander did not father any children, although I understand one of your former classmates is now apprenticing with him. It was high time that Ollivander stopped ignoring his own mortality and realized that he had a duty to make sure his secrets weren't lost.

"To get back on subject, there also is a much lower volume wandmaker in Edinburg, a Mr. Sparks, whom I believe also has to engage in haberdashery to support himself. One of the reasons that the Elder Wand is so prized is that it was not produced by one of these two wand making families. One of the Peverell brothers independently discovered the secrets of wandmaking, and made some improvements to the designs used by the professional wand makers. Peverell seems to have gotten into wand making as a personal curiosity. I have researched this matter extensively, and it seems that beyond the wands produced for the three brothers, no more than three or four others were ever created by him. The others have been lost to history.

"Now, you are likely going to inquire of me, what are the design secrets that make a wand function? Well, if I really knew the answer to that, Mr. Ollivander would have to kill me. I can make some elementary conclusions and guesses, however.

"Wands are not just a straight stick of wood, with a convenient handle, and there is a reason for that. They seem to be intended to concentrate and direct the magical force created by their user. To do that, they need to be hollow, with a different material in the core, so that the magical force can accumulate and intensify and align itself in a straight line when it leaves the rod. It is the vibration of the force inside the hollow cavity and the interaction between the core and the wood, which stores and accumulates some of that force, that allows a Wizard to produce a stronger spell and a more carefully aimed spell, with the wand, than without. I don't advise that any of you repeat this costly experiment, but I have also cut open several wands, to find out what was inside them. In all of them, I found that in addition to the core and the hollow wand itself, there were at least several tiny crystals, about the size of a grain of beach sand. The crystals were sometimes within the handle, sometimes within the cavity of the wand, sometimes at the tip, or in all of these locations. I have also seen several wands that had very fine silver or gold thread, intricately wrapped, within either the core or the handle, or both, or even formed into almost an inlaid pattern on the outside of the shaft or handle of the wand. I think the crystals allow for both intensification of the magical force and what Wizards refer to as the wand's memory. Yes, Draco?"

"It sounds as though you have taken apart an awful lot of wands, Professor McGonagall."

"Yes. My mother was a sister of the current Mr. Sparks. I wanted my grandfather to teach me the wandmaking trade, but he declared it improper for a Witch. I hung around the shop as much as I could and picked up a few things. One day, when my grandfather was away from the shop to fit an invalid for new robes, I dissected over a dozen of his wands. My first childhood magical experience was apparating away from an enraged grandfather. But, back to the lesson… another question that always arises, is why am I matched with a particular wand, or how does my wand recognize me? I have concluded that in most cases your wand does not recognize you.

"Your own wand works best for you, because it was matched to the pitch and strength of your own magical force. This is not exactly the same in any two Wizards, although obviously the differences are not huge, or else the wand makers would need a far larger inventory than they possess. When you bought your first wand, Mr. Ollivander tested your performance with a number of wands, to see which worked best for you. He has a fairly large selection that generally covers the range of needs of Wizards, based upon differences in body size, and pitch, clarity and strength of magical force. He clearly doesn't try out his whole inventory on each customer. He'll winnow down the selection based upon whether you are male or female, how big you are, how forceful you appear to be and even a rough estimate of the pitch of your magical force. To be a successful wand maker, you have to be able to see magical force lines and be able to at least roughly sense the strength and pitch of the customer in front of you. In reality, there is a lot of 'cheating', based upon what the wand maker knows of the young Wizard's parents, as the characteristics of the customer's magical force is largely inherited from the parents.

"Over time, you and your wand become more acclimatized to each other. If the wand is not absolutely ideal for your magical force, you learn to alter to match. You have to continually adjust over time as your body becomes taller and heavier or lighter, and as your magical force first increases as you approach your prime years and then diminishes in old age. We treat wands as a once-in-a-lifetime purchase, but if I broke my wand today and needed to get it replaced by Mr. Sparks, I'd do better to have him fit me for a new wand that matches the McGonagall of today, rather than have him duplicate the wand I purchased before coming to Hogwarts.

"By the way, I think that I can safely say that I'm the only one in this room who is carrying a Sparks wand, rather than an Ollivander wand. Usually in each Hogwarts class, there are about half a dozen out of the thirty-five to forty incoming first-years, and all of them Scottish students, who have a Sparks wand.

"While changing wands within a lifetime would provide some improvement to most Wizards' abilities, and certainly improve the finances of my brother's family, it seems Wizards become inordinately sentimental about their first wand. It is the most personal object they own. That is true for both the poorest sharecropper and for a man like Lucius Malfoy. Why, I've heard of poorer Wizard families occasionally burying their dead without their outer clothes, in order to reuse them, but a Wizard is always buried with his wand, lest he go to the Beyond alone and unprotected.

"As to wands having a memory - that is rare. The Elder Wand is a unique design and does seem to have some capacity for remembering. So do some wands with phoenix cores and a lot of crystals inside them. I really don't believe there is a whole lot more that I can tell you. I also realize that it is poor pedagogical practice, but I don't have time for questions. Our next history lecture will be in exactly two weeks and the topic will be Peverell House, Gryffindor House, and the founding of Hogwarts".

I could tell by the expression on Hermione's face that she was thinking a lot of library research had been made redundant, when Professor McGonagall continued, "and that lecture will be presented by Ron and Hermione. A week after that, Harry and Ginny will tell us about the founding of the Ministry of Magic. That will be all for today. I need to speak to Harry, Hermione, and Ginny in my office. If you'll wait at the gargoyle, I'll be finished with Ron and Draco in a few minutes".


	34. Chapter 34

**Chapter Thirty-Four – Umbridge's Key**

After several minutes of leaning against the gargoyle and wondering what McGonagall wanted, both with Ron and with the rest of us, we saw her door open to emit an unhappy looking Draco. Draco said not a word as he passed us and disappeared down the hall, in the direction of Slytherin.

Harry quickly wrapped up our discussion, "whatever she wants to talk about, we have to bring up the key and the wand that Draco turned in… ah, Professor McGonagall?"

McGonagall was holding the door open. She motioned us to come up the stairs.

"Were you talking about me, Potter? Come along then, I don't have all that much to say to you, but thought we should talk in private."

I had noted that 'in private' had become the polite way of saying, 'without the Slytherins', although if Professor McGonagall wanted to talk about the prophecies, it could also mean 'without Neville'. The Professor led the way up the stairs at a good pace and went to the chair behind her desk, motioning us into guest chairs. Ron was already seated. His expression was inscrutable, sometimes angry, but then pleased almost to the point of gloating. I realized that McGonagall was speaking and turned my attention to her.

"I could tell, watching your face, that I surprised you with that assignment, Hermione. Are you disappointed that I won't be instructing you on the subject?"

"Oh, no Professor, um, not that I haven't enjoyed your lectures immensely, you make it an entirely different subject than the one Professor Binns taught us. But, I've found as we've hunted for things in the Hogwarts library and at the Ministry and talking to Mr. Lovegood, that history is a lot of fun, when you have to root out the old facts on your own. Even Ron and Harry have gotten interested in Hogwarts history, since we've been trying to find the old stables and the Gryffindor House that used to be in the stables."

"Well, that's good. I thought I had thrown you for a minute - didn't know if it was stage fright, thinking about standing up in front of everyone and explaining what you've learned and answering unexpected questions. I'm hoping that you'll find it to be an exhilarating experience. But, that wasn't the reason that I gathered you together. Have you decided when you'll be ready to visit Beauxbatons and Durmstrang? I've heard even more nasty rumors about the battles there and feel that I really need to know the facts, sooner rather than later."

"We have to do some shopping in the Muggle stores before we go, and we still have a few loose ends that we need to clean up. I'll be sending an owl to Seamus when we leave this meeting. I suspect that by the time I get my answer, we'll be ready to go. Possibly tomorrow evening or after lunch the following day".

"Very good, I was afraid you were going to want to delay longer than that. I also wanted to ask if you've done any thinking about Professor Trelawney's prophecies."

"A little," Hermione responded. "Harry told you yesterday that Ron found a very old manuscript describing the founding of Hogwarts. That manuscript spoke of Hogwarts being built at the site of the most intense magical force in Britain, directly atop an ancient stone circle. When Professor Trelawney read the prophecy, we thought, and we thought you thought, that the circle in the prophecy referred to our group. We thought that's why you took to calling us the circle. Reading that ancient manuscript, Harry thought the prophecy might refer to that ancient stone circle. We haven't had a chance to do much more than that. We can't talk about it when the other Gryffindors are present."

"I'm glad you've at least been rolling it over in your minds. That's all that Trew and I could ask for. You mentioned other loose ends that need to be tied up before you depart."

"One question," Ron leaned forward, "is the key that you found in Umbridge's pocket. We initially assumed that it was her house key, but now I'm considering that it looks very much like the key that you used to unlock the door of your apartment the other night. I thought perhaps the reason that she brought that key to Hogwarts was because it is a Hogwarts key. Could we compare that key to your Hogwarts keys?"

Professor McGonagall paused long enough to suggest that she didn't want to allow that, before responding, "I don't see why not. I suppose it could be a Hogwarts key. I never looked at it in that light."

She unlocked her desk drawer and extracted Umbridge's key, which she placed on her desk, in front of us. She then reached into her robes and extracted five ancient-looking, oversized brass keys. "This is the one to my apartment, this one is for my classroom and also fits my office, this is the main gate of the school, this is the exterior door key, and this is a sort of skeleton key, which will unlock most of the minimal security doors at the school."

Ron picked up Umbridge's key and compared it to each of McGonagall's keys, noting as he looked at the key to her apartment, that the keys, while different, were quite similar in size, apparent age, and overall appearance and embellishment. Both bore the same elaborate curlicue pattern, which I did not recognize as any symbol of Hogwarts or any of its Houses. He continued comparing the key to the other quite similar looking keys that Professor McGonagall had produced. He found that it appeared to be an exact match for the school's skeleton key. He passed the two keys around to all of us, to demonstrate the extreme similarity.

Professor McGonagall expressed extreme surprise, but noted "I agree, these two keys appear to be physically identical. However, you should know that Hogwarts keys also carry a magical charm. Despite its appearance, it's possible that Umbridge's key won't work the locks. Since she was headmaster for half a term, however, it is entirely possible that she took a skeleton key with her. That leaves the nasty question as to whether or not the Carrows had any keys in their possession when they fled. I'd hate to think they are in possession of keys to the main gate and the exterior castle doors."

"After we finish here, can we go and check which doors the Umbridge key will open?" I asked.

That merited a brief frown, but a fairly rapid assent.

"Next bit of news on the various mysteries," Hermione continued, "is that Mr. Filch says that Draco turned in a wand that he found inserted in the ground behind a bush, near the entry door. He turned it in to Mr. Filch after Harry had collected the inventory of Filch's wands and prior to Mr. Filch being attacked. Mr. Filch said it was an extremely rare wand, made of rowan, with a phoenix feather core".

"I know of only one wand that meets that exact description," Professor McGonagall reported, saving Harry the need to send his owl. "It belonged to Bellatrix Lestrange. Rowan wands are rare, in fact in the past rowan was used to ward off Witch's spells and the early Britons believed Witches feared the rowan tree. Between them, my grandfather, father, and brother only made five rowan wands, over a period of almost 120 years, including a time when my grandfather was producing thirty wands a year, rather than the dozen that they produce nowadays. He always said that if a customer required a rowan wand, it was a sure sign of mental instability.

"I was at the Ministry this morning," Professor McGonagall continued, in a very different tone of voice. "I was not at all pleased with the tale you brought back yesterday of the Death Eaters adopting Muggle technology, bombs in the Ministry, and a death threat against Shacklebolt being found inside the Ministry. It is both worrying and embarrassing that the Death Eater traditionalists are adopting Muggle technology faster than our side. Thicknesse is such a pompous ass that people tend to forget what a brilliant mind he has. He always struck me as being more comfortable living as if he were back in the Middle Ages, but I'm not surprised that he would adopt whatever Muggle technology and customs he thinks necessary for his victory.

"As a leader of the opposition, he is both saner and shrewder than Voldemort, and he doesn't use random acts of vengeance to motivate his troops. That makes him a far more dangerous leader than Voldemort.

"As the leaders helping the Ministry oppose him, Harry, you and I need to realize that he will thoroughly analyze our personalities and consider how those personalities are likely to determine what actions our respective groups take. He will notice, as I have noticed, that you have a strong personal bias toward immediate action and even solitary action, when confronted with a danger or a friend who might be in jeopardy. We both have to analyze ourselves and our actions more accurately than Thicknesse does, and make sure that we are neither too predictable, nor following our biases into poor decisions. The Death Eaters correctly assumed that Shacklebolt would be overly loyal to the aurors assigned to protect him and that he would not expect Thicknesse to take a leap out of character and use Muggle technology against him. Just consider that a word to the wise.

"Even in their reduced numbers, the Death Eaters pose a serious threat if they've adopted Muggle technology. That was a key reason that I wanted to turn the Malfoys. They were the most comfortable of the Great Families with both Muggle technology and dealing with Muggles. Lucius always was uncomfortable with Muggles and the Muggle-born entering the areas that he had carved out in his mind as the 'Wizarding World', but had no problem at all pleasantly associating with Muggles in their world. The thing he loathed most in the world was standing beside the Hogwarts Express, greeting or saying goodbye to his son, with what he saw as the intrusion of Muggle parents rubbing elbows with his family in a part of his world.

"But, I find myself digressing again. I gave Arthur and Kingsley several very terse messages. First, they had best take their personal security much more seriously. Second, they must distrust and thoroughly vet any auror hired or promoted in the past year or two. Third, they need to get a young Muggle-born Wizard to start scouring the Ministry from top to bottom, looking for dangerous Muggle artifacts, especially in any area that has access to electricity. I told them that the Muggles are very much into miniaturization and have complex bugging devices smaller than Rita Skeeter's beetle. Fourth, I told Arthur that he needs to judiciously start acquiring some useful Muggle technology. If he can drive around in one of their land boats, he can certainly get some Muggle tools to detect their bugging devices. And finally, I told the Minister that, while I heartily support his idea of sending exchange students to Beauxbatons and Durmstrang, I'd be far happier if some of our Hogwarts grads were sent to a Muggle engineering school. I think I knocked Kingsley back on his heels. Kingsley is eagerly awaiting whatever report you bring back from our sister academies.

"It certainly moved his mind away from all the good press publicity he wanted to talk about. I told him that in both the short and long run, the most significant article in today's paper was the story of Rita Skeeter being crushed to death. I reminded him that this story was also in the Muggle press: I saw it on the street corner as I was entering the Ministry. At the very least, I think I distracted his mind from trying to redesign the Hogwarts curriculum and tell me what sort of new professors I should be recruiting. It might be nice to have, but I really don't think now is the time to add a French professor. I know foreign language skills are needed, but I have more pressing needs than addressing Kingsley's fad of the moment. Better he spend his time moving the Ministry into the world of several decades ago.

"As I told Mr. Weasley and Mr. Malfoy, my visit to the Ministry might have had more useful impact and been more pleasant, had not the Minister learned the story of Draco, Ron, and the asp. I was chided most severely for allowing such a threat to the Deputy Minister's son to occur as a result of the hospitality I provided to Draco and Pansy. I told Ron that this was a story that did not need to reach the Minister's ears. It is not at all helpful that the Minister ordered me to evict Draco and Pansy within the week. It was all I could do to persuade him to allow me to continue my Malfoy experiment at least a bit longer. Had I not been able to assure him that all of you would be departing for the Continent within days, I don't believe he would have relented.

"I am well aware that Draco abused my hospitality. I really have spoken to him quite harshly. I intended to require him to apologize to Ron. I regret delaying that necessary action. Draco has now apologized and Ron has accepted the apology. Draco promises that something like that will never happen again. He really is contrite. On the other hand, as adults residing at Hogwarts, I would hope that you would all have the common sense to realize that some Hogwarts tittle tattle is not to be brought to the Minister's attention. It causes... complications. Can we agree that in future, we will handle such matter among ourselves and not involve the Ministry. Otherwise it will be impossible for me to operate Hogwarts with the Deputy Minister's children as students and his wife as a professor. It puts me in an impossible position if everyone is going to take their grievances to the Minister, rather than allowing me to settle them. I know I somewhat dropped the ball in this case. Ron and I have apologized to each other. Can the rest of you agree to keep matters like this in-house?"

"I can," Hermione agreed. "I think I caused the problem by telling the Minister how good Draco's conduct and new attitude have been. This naturally incensed Ron. It really must have seemed like a great betrayal to Ron, when I seemed to slough off what might have been a murder attempt as if it was nothing at all. I've apologized over and over to Ron and I feel awful about the whole thing."

Harry and I agreed to raise our concerns with McGonagall, before speaking to anyone at the Ministry. Harry said he wouldn't promise to stay quiet if McGonagall did something which he violently opposed. That didn't fully satisfy McGonagall, but she said she would accept it. Harry quickly changed topic.

"I want to use some of the money the Minister gave me to purchase a mobile generator and some cell phones for Hogwarts. That way, we'll be able to stay in touch with you from the Continent and Australia".

"Just how much money did the Minister give you?"

"I don't know", Harry replied, reaching into his robes and pulling out a wad of paper.

"You have four fifty-pound notes and six twenty pounders," Hermione informed him, "that's enough to do quite a bit of shopping, but perhaps not enough for everything we need, especially if we're buying a generator."

Professor McGonagall was giving a lot of signs that the meeting was over. Harry looked like he was about to argue with Professor McGonagall, but she preempted him, "I really do have something that I must do now, but I promise to participate in your quest for doors that will open to Umbridge's key. If it makes you feel better, I'll give you her key." With that she handed Harry the key, so we left her office and headed out to the lawn, rather than return to our common room. This might be the last chance we had for a couple weeks to discuss what we thought of the prophecies. I thought we had all been thinking of them, at least in the backs of our minds. I was still trying to come to terms with McGonagall believing that I was the Mother of the Future.

But first, I had to get my brother's reaction to his meeting with Draco and McGonagall. I told him that I was worried for him, but that he didn't seem all that upset, when we entered the office, while Draco had looked very upset, coming down the stairs.

"I didn't like what McGonagall said to me. Attempted murder is a crime, not a school prank. Since Draco was much less happy with what McGonagall said to him, I'm fine with things. Draco and Pansy are on probation. Draco didn't think that was fair, but McGonagall told him that his behavior had been inexcusable and that he needed to imagine how he would feel if McGonagall had extracted a promise from him to defend us. That did get his attention. He apologized on his own. I'm satisfied. Now, I'd rather talk about the key or the prophecy or just about anything else."

"I think Harry was correct about the ancient stone circle," Hermione said. I've seen the cavern where the Goblins run the utilities of the school. Before that we had the Chamber of Secrets and learned that Slytherin House is under the lake. There is a lot under this school that we need to explore. We also need to look at the mound where the stables were, and see how deep it goes. We've got paintings and drawings of what the stables looked like above ground, but there may have been a lot underground as well. I wonder what is underground at the level of the ancient stone circle and how much that circle contributes to the magical power of Hogwarts. If we give the prophecies any credibility at all, then we need to do research on that circle and try to locate it."

"I'm not sure in what sense I'm supposed to be the Mother of the Future. I guess from the first prophecy, if it applies to both Hermione and me, then we are both going to have sons that play a big role in future Wizard history. If the Death Eaters learn of the prophecies, Hermione and I will be bigger targets than Harry is. What that says to me is that we can't take a retiring role, we have to be out there on the front lines pushing back the danger."

"But the first prophecy seems to name Neville and me as your protectors. If you take Professor McGonagall's view of the prophecies, then our entire circle is cast in the role of defenders."

"I certainly plan to defend Hermione and Ginny," Ron declared, "whatever the prophecy means. Unfortunately, I think we're also going to be pretty busy defending Dad and the Minister."

We just barely had enough time to get back to our common room and check in with the rest of the circle, before going to dinner. We walked back in a silence, which I felt denoted a sense of heavy responsibility upon our shoulders.

We had barely set foot in the common room, when Luna asked "What did Professor McGonagall want?"

"I think mainly to push us to set off on our trip sooner rather than later," Harry replied, "but she also said she was at the Ministry this morning telling them that they need to vet the aurors and they need to take the Death Eaters use of Muggle technology very, very seriously. She did give us Umbridge's key and it is a perfect match for what the Professor referred to as 'equivalent to a skeleton key' for the low security doors at Hogwarts. She said the real skeleton key is charmed, so this one might not work, but she offered to take us around the school to check locks, right after dinner. She was rushing off to some other unnamed engagement. We were feeling a little pent up indoors, so took a little stroll on the grounds after the meeting. I see it's time for dinner."

Dinner was uneventful, but we had an interesting evening, exploring Hogwarts and testing doors that we hadn't realized existed. It soon became clear that the skeleton key was genuine. We also got a quick appreciation of what Hogwarts considered to be low security doors. The key unlocked all the classrooms, most of the storage areas, Filch's office, the baths, the Quidditch changing rooms and equipment storage rooms, the announcer's booth at the Quidditch grounds, and whatever doors had locks within the student dorms and common rooms. Distressingly included in this category was the secondary rear 'emergency' exit from each of the Houses. The key would not unlock staff apartments, any of the entrances to the school grounds or the castle, storage rooms with dangerous items such as Snape's old potions storage area, and most faculty offices. Surprisingly, it did unlock Professors Flitwick's and Sprout's offices.

McGonagall said "I have no idea why it should be set up like that, unless these offices originally had a different purpose".

It was like a scavenger hunt and we went to bed both happy and tired. It was a source of particular joy to see Draco's face as we came in the Slytherin emergency exit and found him attired in nothing but his briefs, sipping a brandy, with a similarly attired Pansy sitting on his lap, with her arms around his shoulders.


	35. Chapter 35

**Chapter Thirty-Five – A Change of Plans**

Draco had other reason for concern, as he explained at breakfast. "The poltergeist was much stronger last night," he said. Everyone, even Hagrid, agrees that they felt something, and Hagrid says it was stronger than the previous night. It even knocked a trophy off the mantle above the floo fireplace in the common room. Pansy was really frightened."

"I certainly was," she seconded Draco's report, "and Hagrid seemed shaken as well. He stayed back in the common room to investigate."

The Owls arrived with our papers and I immediately opened the Daily Prophet, being interested to learn if they would have anything more to say about the death of Rita Skeeter or the amazing change in tone and political orientation shown in her final article. I was shocked to see that Rita had a couple final shots from the grave against the new administration:

**MUGGLE BOMBS FOUND IN DEPUTY MINISTER'S OFFICE - DEPUTY MINISTER WEASLEY CLAIMS THEY AREN'T HIS **

**MINISTER SHACKLEBOLT LIVING IN SWELL DIGS, LOVES MUGGLE SHERRY**

The first article was just plain snide, alternately implying that Dad was a blithering idiot and that he was a sinister bomber, brazenly operating from the executive wing of the Ministry. A note at the end of the article said it was 'compiled and written by senior reporter Malcolm Frakes from notes left in ace investigative reporter Rita Skeeter's personal notebook, which she certainly would have turned into a hard-hitting expose, had she not been prevented by her own brutal murder'. That came about as close to accusing Dad of murdering Rita to keep her quiet as one could get, without stating a clear accusation. It was masterful innuendo and misdirection.

The second article went into very great detail about the estate at which the Minister was living, its furnishings, the quality of food and drink available to the Minister and his guests, and even included a short mention of our dinner at the Muggle restaurant on the night that Rita had been killed - a dinner which Malcolm Frakes implied was arranged to provide an alibi for the Minister and Dad at the time of Rita's murder. He didn't make an outright accusation, but that was clearly the conclusion to which the reader was being led.

We passed the article around the table, sharing our concerns about the gross unfairness of all that was said. Our indignation was interrupted by Hermione's identification of the greater problem. "How did they get this information? We were the only ones who knew this. We told very few people. It's us, Mom, Dad, Shacklebolt and his aurors, and McGonagall."

"I also told Draco and Pansy," Harry corrected Hermione.

"No," she replied, "you told them about the bombs, not about either of our dinners or Shacklebolt's borrowed estate. Our enemies at the Daily Prophet have a spy in our camp."

The Quibbler had more information on Rita's career and a long article on her death, ending with an apology for attacking her after she was deceased. Xenophilius had deduced that she had been squashed while in her bug form, and reported that he had obtained a copy of the giant footprint and taken it to the Ministry, demanding that the auror corps investigate and search for a matching shoe print among the Wizard population. He said the auror corps were best equipped to conduct the investigation, because his own analysis revealed that the print had been made by a standard issue auror boot. This forced the Ministry to admit that an auror had been tailing Rita and had accidentally squashed her after she transformed into a bug to avoid pursuit. Xenophilius ended the article with what I guess must be called his own invention of the trailing headline**: IS MINISTRY EXPLANATION OF RITA SKEETER'S 'ACCIDENTAL' DEATH AT ALL BELIEVABLE? **

At the end of breakfast, McGonagall asked to speak to Harry in her office. This postponed our planned departure to shop in the Muggle stores for the emergency generator and the supplies for our trip. With an unknown amount of time to kill, I went for a walk beside the lake with Hermione. "Do you think the prophecies are real and do you think that they refer to us, personally?" I asked Hermione.

"I'm really not a believer in prophesy. I think these new prophecies are given credence by Professor McGonagall only because of the previous prophecy that Professor Trelawney made about Harry. I can reconcile how that one worked out strictly by logic: it only worked because Voldemort psyched himself into believing it, and because Dumbledore was a believer in prophecy.

"I'm really not the person to ask whether a prophecy is true. I'm a logical person and I don't believe in divination. But then, my Muggle physics can't reconcile apparation or flying on a broom. I just don't fully understand my new world. If I don't believe in prophecy, why should I believe one just because it is about me? If you're disposed to accept that someone like Trelawney, whom we've observed to be pretty much a fraud with regard to everything she did in her class, can actually predict or influence the future through things that she sees in a trance, then it's reasonable to say those particular prophecies refer to us and to Harry, Ron, and Neville. It really comes down to whether or not you believe that sort of thing. I didn't grow up steeped in witchcraft, like you did, so it's natural that I would have less belief in a prophecy than you would. If I don't believe in the truth of prophecy, then it shouldn't matter what this one says, or whether Trelawney is referring to me."

"You say shouldn't, rather than doesn't, which means to me that it is having an effect on you, even if you don't think it should," I replied.

A very short period of time passed before Harry joined us. "I showed Professor McGonagall the articles in the Daily Prophet. She immediately replied, 'we've got a spy in our midst and should guard our speech, where others can overhear us'. I took that to mean the Slytherins. On the whole, she didn't seem all that upset about the bad publicity. I believe her exact comment was 'that's not at all fair to Arthur, but I think Kingsley had it coming.'

"Professor McGonagall says the Ministry has obtained credit cards for several Muggle-born employees, who shop for the few things the Ministry buys in the Muggle world. It turns out Arthur neglected to tell you that among the 'Muggle artifacts' found in the offices of the Voldemort supporters were half a dozen Muggle credit cards. They were perfectly free to shop the Muggle stores. Anyway, since Hermione and I were raised in Muggle homes, we've been on the radar enough that the Ministry can get cards for us, but it will take weeks."

"I already have a Muggle credit card," Hermione replied. My parents insisted that I have one. It only has a three hundred pound limit, and it's back at my parents' house, but I can get it, if you think we'll need more than your three-hundred and twenty pounds. I wasn't able to sell the house when I moved them to Australia. The story is that they've gone on a long holiday to stay with a sick relative, while I stayed on at boarding school. I could stop by the house without rousing a lot of undue attention."

"I doubt they'd waste the manpower all this time," Harry observed, "but the Death Eaters could be watching the house. They certainly watched Grimmauld Place all this time. You'd have to be careful and not go alone when you pick up the card. I doubt we can buy everything we need with the money that Shacklebolt gave me."

"We've been stupid!" Hermione exclaimed. "If the Death Eaters have been watching Grimmauld Place all this time, then they saw Margaret and Millicent enter the house. If Kreacher answered the door, they probably didn't see Narcissa, but they certainly know somebody is staying there. If it was only Kreacher, they would have just exchanged words at the door without entering. I'd say that Margaret and Millicent were in great danger, but if that were the case, something bad would have happened by now."

"Maybe they think I was at the house," Harry suggested.

"Or maybe they've chosen to watch Margaret and Millicent to find out what other spots they visit."

"In which case they probably know that we met Margaret in Godric's Hollow," I remarked. "Of course, if they wanted to move against Margaret, they've already had ample time to do so."

"They're probably not in great danger, but we should send Margaret ad owl and suggest that Pansy send a warning to Millicent. One that doesn't give our game away. Perhaps just say that we have reason to believe that someone is following Millicent, since she was called into the Ministry. At least that's what I'd do," Hermione concluded.

We all agreed that this was a good idea and the only thing we could reasonably do to protect the girls, without drawing even more attention to them.

"I suppose we should also warn Narcissa, although I blame her for putting two young girls in harm's way because of her own bad faith and stupidity," Harry suggested.

"Yes, we'll warn her too. Right after we figure out how we're going to get all this shopping done," Hermione agreed.

"You know what?" I said, "this plan is getting way too complicated. It makes no sense to expose ourselves to the risk of problems with the Muggles and Death Eaters before we go on our trip. Especially for something like a generator that will mainly be used after we return. Do we really need a cell phone lifeline to Hogwarts, and do we want Bill to know we have them? Just take your owl and we can leave by surprise this afternoon, before any snoopy persons miss us. If McGonagall has been talking at the Ministry about our trip and the shopping we plan to do, the Death Eaters may be waiting for us. Let's just leave right away!"

"That makes sense," Harry said. "I'll alert McGonagall to cover for us and line up Bill, the auror. Hermione can round up the others. Ginny can find Molly, and George will have to apparate to Shell Cottage to get Bill and Fleur. We'll leave as soon as we can get everyone assembled. I'll send the owls and summon Kreacher to warn Narcissa."

I found Mom lounging in the Gryffindor common room, starting to prepare her lecture notes for the coming semester. It was the sixth place that I had gone searching for her. She was surprised that we were leaving immediately, but said that she had been packed for days.

"Shopping seemed to be just way to much bother and danger," I replied. "Besides, Harry doesn't need to wait for a return owl from Ollivander's, since McGonagall was able to identify the rowan wand which was stolen from Filch as having belonged to Bella. Apparently it is the wand of the crazy people."

"Yes, rowan is associated with mentally unstable Witches, but not unstable Wizards, so it's perfectly natural to assume that Bella used the rowan. The Headmaster is mistaken, however. Bella's wand was walnut."

"Ron took her original wand, Mom. She was using a replacement."

"I doubt she would have replaced it with rowan. Bella was a very proud Witch. A rowan wand behaves differently than most wands. I'm sure I would have noticed a rowan wand when I was dueling Bellatrix. It's an understandable mistake, but your headmaster is mistaken. And please… I really wish you would show the proper respect and stop referring to the headmaster as 'McGonagall'. It's just not proper behavior for a school girl."

I love Mom dearly, but school girl! I went upstairs to the dorm to grab what I had packed for the trip. This saved a fight with Mom.

By 11:00 A.M. we were ready to set off on our journey. We all linked arms with either Hagrid or Fleur, since they were the only ones who knew our destination. At 11:10 Greenwich time, we were standing on a pebble-covered drive in front of tall wrought-iron gates, which were the only break we could see in a ten foot stone wall, fronted by tall bushes, that stretched as far as we could see in either direction. We saw nothing beyond the gates, except a continuation of the path that curved and faded into the distant shade, amidst tall hedges on either side of the path. There was a large brass bell beside the gate and Fleur grabbed its rope, giving a hard tug, which caused a loud ringing that echoed inside our heads.

"I remember standing right here and pulling this very rope, when I was late getting back to school, and more than once," recollected Fleur, "and this same old woman caretaker, Madame Roche, in the same silly pink dress and pink hat, who is approaching us now, always gave me a severe reproach, before deciding to let me back in."


	36. Chapter 36

**Chapter Thirty-Six - Beauxbatons**

The old woman had a ring of keys in one hand and her wand in the other, pointed at Harry's face. She seemed to be debating whether we had brought Fleur to Beauxbatons' by force. She seemed to decide that we were alright and then she and Fleur had an animated discussion in French, which none of us could understand. After a few minutes of back and forth, the old woman turned around and left.

"I told her we were a delegation from Hogwarts and Britain's Ministry of Magic, but she said we were not expected and she was not going to admit us without the headmistress's permission. I said we had both the headmistress's friend Hagrid and the wife of the Deputy Minister of Magic with us, as well as Harry Potter. She said to wait, but agreed to check with the headmistress. I know nobody could have followed us, or known where we were going, but I feel unsafe standing in the open. Let's at least move from the gate, so we're not standing at the tee of the lanes."

"I do feel exposed here," I remarked, as our wait lengthened to about half an hour. "And there were people who knew where we were going."

"It's okay," Harry assured me. "Just stay alert. We brought a small army. If Death Eaters appear, we should all apparate forty feet left and ten feet up, fire a single curse and apparate to the Burrow. Thanks for the heads up - it does feel like they left us here to arrange a nasty reception. Being pinned in front of a wall is disconcerting. If we focus on our plan of action, we'll be fine. The danger is being unaware and freezing."

I rehearsed in my head the exact steps I would take if we were attacked, and redoubled my vigilance . About fifteen minutes later, we heard the clanking of keys and the woman reappeared. She said a few words to Fleur and unlocked the gate.

"She apologizes for the delay. The headmistress was in a meeting, and had left instructions not to be disturbed."

"Tell her that we understand," replied Harry, "but just the same, let's remain alert, in case they've planned an ambush. I'm surprised. I was worried how we'd be received at Durmstrang, but expected a warmer reception here."

"It's going to be fine, Harry," Fleur advised. "Remember, they've just been attacked, as Hogwarts was, and they are not as far along in rebuilding their defenses and returning to normalcy. Hogwarts is not as trusting as it used to be."

"Hogwarts is way too trusting," Ron declared. "We've got Death Eater guests. One tried to kill me."

Despite accepting Draco's apology, Ron clearly had not fully forgiven Draco and was unhappy with his presence at Hogwarts. Why was I so accepting, not only of Draco and Pansy being back at Hogwarts, but with being one of their official protectors? The Death Eaters had just killed Fred. Draco had been a Death Eater. I had seen the mark on his arm. Was I a terrible sister? Could I really let go of Fred that quickly? I felt ashamed as I felt tears rolling down my face. Mom claimed I was disrespectful of my headmaster by calling her 'McGonagall', even though all of the students had always said just 'Dumbledore' in talking among ourselves. I had actually allowed McGonagall to recruit me as one of Draco's defenders. I had spoken to him calmly as if he was a normal person and didn't have the mark on his arm. I had thought my brother had over-reacted when he was threatened by a deadly snake, wielded by the Death Eater he had been persuaded to defend. Ron was correct, this wasn't at all right.

Fleur clearly didn't know how to respond and turned to walk along the path.

We followed the path for about two hundred yards, still not seeing the school, but noticing the shrubs had stopped on our right to reveal a paddock a couple hundred yards on a side, with at least two horses tethered not far from the path, and the fencing that had traced the path crushed along most of its length. The general destruction and churned up turf extended farther than we could see, and we didn't see any other horses. As we stared in passing, the old woman stopped and began a fairly long discussion with Fleur. Finally Fleur turned to us to explain.

"Madame Roche explains that the girls are taught to ride the horses here, but that during the attack, the Giants trampled the fence and killed all but two of the horses. There were over a dozen giants involved in the attack and they destroyed much of the school, killed thirty of the students, and injured dozens more. There are still twenty students in residence, and they are very frightened of Giants.

"That's what the problem was earlier. The faculty doesn't want Grawp coming within sight of the students. The headmistress realizes this is awkward, and considered just sending us away, but requests that we consider asking Grawp to remain in the paddock. The headmistress said that she would be happy to spend the night in the paddock with Grawp and Hagrid, after she meets with us at the chateau. The school has a fair-sized tent that the faculty can set up quickly in the paddock, so the three of them should be quite comfortable. The headmistress will be here in a few minutes to greet us, personally."

"Grawp is used to sleeping outdoors," Hagrid replied. "We can sleep here, to avoid frightening the little girls."

We walked along the path to get a look at the chateau. About fifty yards ahead, the hedge on our right ended, revealing the chateau half a mile away. It looked very different from Hogwarts and was every bit as damaged as Madam Roche said. It was hard to get a good impression of detail or scale, but I observed a two-story long rectangular block form in some kind of light stone, with large, regularly spaced, windows. It lacked the whimsical elegance of Hogwarts, looking more like Muggle buildings I had seen. I stood there staring at the school until I saw a carriage proceeding around the side of the building and down the lane toward us.

As it drew up, it was revealed to be the truly huge carriage drawn by the same giant horse-like creatures that had carried the Beauxbatons delegation to the Triwizard Tournament. The carriage drew to a halt beside us. The not-all-that-far-from-Giant figure of Madame Maxine stepped down from the carriage and she extended a personal greeting to Fleur and a hug and peck on the cheek to Hagrid, before welcoming the rest of us. My attention had been so focused on Madame Maxine that I didn't realize that Fleur's sister Gabrielle had also alighted, until I heard her say hello, right at my elbow. The carriage lights were bright enough that Gabrielle could tell I was crying.

"I'm alright, really," I told her. "Looking at the destruction to your school and hearing about all of the students you lost made me sad, which reminded me of my brother Fred, who was killed at Hogwarts."

Gabrielle gave me an extra hug, before I passed her to Harry.

"Please, get into the coach and we'll go up to the chateau for our meeting," offered Madame Maxine. "Since I last saw you at the Triwizard Tournament, we have experienced another larger measure of tragedy, and from the same source. We lost thirty students killed and more injured, and we are a smaller school than Hogwarts".

"We're very sorry," Harry replied. "We'd like to learn more about what happened and provide whatever help we can."

In the brighter light, Harry also could tell that I was crying. He put his arm around my shoulders. I could read his concern and the silent whisper {What's wrong Ginny? Can I help.}

"I'm thinking of Fred. I think this is my time to cry."

The horses moved the carriage to the front of the chateau in only a few minutes. Seen up close, there was massive damage to the entrance. The front doors could not be closed and there was a gaping hole in the wall of the wing toward our right. As I dismounted the carriage, I saw that the end of that wing had collapsed into a pile of rubble. As we walked toward the entrance, I observed that the stone of the chateau was thick blocks of gleaming white marble. I quickly dried my face. I couldn't make my grief the center of attention among those who had lost as much as the residents of Beaubatons had just lost.

I passed through the door into what must have been a very elegant entry hall, with a high ceiling, plaster walls of dark blue, and a glass dome above a balcony that led to the east and west dormitory rooms on the second floor. A wide marble staircase ascended in graceful spirals to the balcony, making two full circles, or at least it used to. The glass dome was gone, the railing of the balcony was half gone and the right banister was missing. There was a gap in the center of the stairs. A rather large hole had been bashed or blown into the right wall of the stairway, with two marble panels missing and two others severely cracked. Halfway up the stairs, there was a gap. I could see a large oak door barring my view of rooms in the west wing of the first floor, while the door to the east wing, on my right, was gone. A look down the hallway showed that the piles of rubble had not been cleared. No students were in sight in any direction. We were ushered to the left, through the good door and into what appeared to be a classroom wing.

Mom was at my side. "I'm okay - Fred."

Mom squeezed my shoulder and moved away to join Madame Maxine.

"We're able to remain operational, because this wing was spared," observed the headmistress. "Many students and the whole faculty fled to the west wing, and the Death Eaters and their Giants focused their attacks on the east wing. We held them off in this wing, actually killing a Giant and two of the Death Eaters, until reinforcement from the Ministry arrived from Paris. Attacking from the rear, they killed two more Giants and another Death Eater. When the remaining Death Eaters fled, the Giants quieted down and left. Our attack came the day after yours. We can meet in this classroom here on the right. I'd invite you into my office, but it was in the East Wing."

She motioned us into chairs, which we pulled into a circle. Gabrielle and Fleur were chatting rapidly and animatedly in French.

"You took a lot of damage here, Madame Maxine," observed Bill, pulling us back on topic. "What can you tell us about the tactics that were used in the attack?"

"We were attacked a day after the battles at Hogwarts and Durmstrang. Although we had reports of extensive damage from each of those attacks, we also heard that Voldemort was killed, a lot of Death Eaters were killed or captured, the Giants had dispersed, and that, both attacks had been failures. We heightened our alert, but perhaps not sufficiently. I thought the Death Eater challenge had likely passed.

"We were attacked at night, when only a few of us were vigilant. The outer defenses were breached by the time we were alerted and ready to defend the chateau. We had our forces - a dozen faculty and staff, and the nearly a hundred students - in the four upper levels. The chateau's defenses were resilient, but we mistakenly tried to defend the entire building. The attackers initially hit us on all sides, but then focused on the entry hall. The Giants broke into the Entry Hall after the Death Eaters created a chink in the defenses. After that, all of the Death Eaters and many of the Giants focused their attack on the East Wing. Since those defending the entry hall had retreated to the West Wing, where the lower level girls were hiding, a third of our fighters were isolated in the East Wing and were overwhelmed. We were barely able to keep the invaders from entering the West Wing. The reinforcements arrived from the Paris Ministry were slow, but they got here just in time. Fortunately, a couple of upper level students had apparated to the Ministry and summoned help."

"With that many Giants in the attack, you're lucky to have been able to drive off your attackers at all," Bill reassured her. "Hogwarts is larger and faced fewer Giants, yet they almost overran us. Of course we were hurt by some of our Slytherin students joining in the attack against Hogwarts. Did any of your Houses help the attackers?"

"We don't divide the school up into Houses. I don't think it's healthy to sow divisions within the student body. Perhaps it's because we're not much more than half your size, but I think it's mainly that we don't share your British belief that competitive sports among the students is good for discipline and character. We want all the students to pull together. The attackers didn't seem to be French: at least we heard only English and German. All our students were loyal to the school and to their classmates. I think the attackers achieved their purpose. They sacked my office and our little collection of magical artifacts, some of which have great powers."

"I hadn't heard of your artifacts," Harry exclaimed. "Were they powerful enough to justify attacking a well-defended school?"

"We had the sword, armor, and ring of Joan of Arc, which render the wearer almost immune to curses. They're gone. We still have the Rod of Asclepius, passed down from Rassalon. Some say it goes all the way back to the ancient Muggle Moses, and that it can instantly cure snakebite. Madame Pinchot, is convinced that Moses was actually one of us, and not a Muggle. Madame Ferme, our Madam Pomphrey, was able to cure difficult cases with this rod. I suspect she could have saved Professor Dumbledore, had he come to her.

"We also lost what you might call our Hellenic Halo. It was a narrow crown, actually joined crowns of gold and silver. It imbued the wearer with a sense of dedication and purpose. Each of our graduates wore the Halo as they received their diplomas. Those were our traditional treasures. However, a few years back, we received a collection of papers and artifacts left to us by Nicholas Flamel. We were still evaluating this treasure, when the Death Eaters attacked. The only consolation is that half the papers and artifacts were in labs and faculty offices in this wing. "

"We're looking at that angle, also," replied Bill. "We are in the process of inventorying the artifacts and magical mysteries that were stored at the Ministry at the time that Voldemort's forces took over. Fortunately, the Death Eaters did not expect to lose the Battle of Hogwarts and felt that their control of the Ministry was secure, so most of those things weren't removed. The inventory hasn't gotten very far yet, but we know some items are missing."

Harry perked up, as if he had just connected some dots, and commented, "this ties in with what appears to be an effort by the opposition to gain control of particular wands, such as the Elder Wand, Voldemort's wand, and the wand that disarmed Dumbledore and killed Voldemort. It seemed strange that they would make such an effort, since these wands, except the Elder Wand, are normal commercially purchased wands, whose added value seemed purely historical. But, if the opposition is collecting artifacts both in Britain and France, there must be a common purpose."

"With Voldemort gone," analyzed Madame Maxime, "his remaining supporters need something to rally and organize around. Their past structure began and ended with Voldemort, and now they need something to point to as a reason for their supporters to stay in the cult. They need some magical symbols or powerful relics that they can rally around and point to as possibly making them powerful enough to have a chance of beating us. I'm not convinced that these relics have as much actual power for them as organizational power."

"I dunno," said Ron. "I think putting a little girl in a suit of armor and having her be as difficult to stop as the biggest Giant, but also able to fight with a sword and fire curses at her enemies, would be a fairly big advantage in a battle. That probably would have tipped the scales in the Battle of Hogwarts. No offense, Harry."

"None taken. But, I think Ron's right. We've been attacked by a basilisk and by giant spiders. If the Death Eaters unleashed a horde of snakes and basilisks, that Rod of Asclepias would come in handy to protect their own fighters. Have you found anything in what Flamel left that would be of use in an attack? I know when I first encountered Voldemort, he wanted to steal Flamel's Sorcerer's Stone, in order to regenerate his body. He was just limping along as a parasite on one of our Professors and using Unicorn blood to survive. What I'm saying is he knew about and was interested in one of Flamel's possessions, so perhaps there was something else in the collection that was of value to him. The Death Eaters and Voldemort were willing to risk invading the Ministry of Magic just to get the prophecy about Voldemort and me. They thought that had strategic value. It's hard to tell what they regard as important. The Death Eaters may share Voldemort's passion for cheating death. Perhaps some are now pursuing that quest."

Madame Maxime was very interested in Harry's recounting of Voldemort's activities in Britain and insisted upon a detailed description of the tactics used in the attack on Hogwarts. We took turns supplying her with all the details we could think of. She was especially interested in our recounting of the identification and destruction of the horcruxes.

"It would appear," Madame Maxime remarked, "that the relics stolen from Beauxbaton are exactly the sort of historical magical objects that Voldemort chose to convert into horcruxes. Is it possible that another Death Eater wants to create his own horcruxes, or even that one of our relics was a Voldemort horcrux of which you were unaware? In listening to your tale, it struck me that you had very little evidence upon which to decide how many horcruxes Voldemort created. You just assumed they all had to be destroyed for Voldemort to die, but you have no proof of that. In fact, we know that Voldemort was reduced to a disembodied state near death when he attacked the infant Harry Potter. He had all of his horcruxes intact at that time."

Hermione looked worried. "If they only were able to steal half of your Flamel inheritance, it's possible that they didn't get what they were most interested in. I hate to say this, but you could be at risk of another attack. How successful have you been in getting your magical defenses restored?"

"The outer perimeter is not as strong as it had been," replied Madame Maxime, "but it is reasonably strong, and it now is patrolled constantly. We didn't even attempt to restore the magical protections to the damaged wing of the chateau, but this wing is restored to full strength, perhaps stronger, since all the magic that was anchored in this pile of rock is now concentrated in this wing. All of the faculty are in residence and we still have half a dozen defenders from the Paris Ministry. They've been helping with the restoration of the magical defenses. The Paris Ministry was never taken over by the Voldemort forces, so it is in better shape than your Ministry, not that the current Minister is entirely to be trusted. The Ministry has already captured several of the attackers who escaped their counterattack at the school. I think we'll be all right. You're welcome to sleep here tonight, if you wish. You should be safe."

"Thank you," replied Mom. "It's been a long day. If you could just point us to our rooms."

"Gabrielle will show you to your rooms," answered Madame Maxime.

Gabrielle led us back to the entry hall, then up the healthy half of the stairway, warning us of the gap, and then into the west residential wing.

"Most of the students have returned to their homes, so we have several empty sleeping rooms," Gabrielle explained.

I motioned that Harry and I would take the first bedroom, with a gesture that was meant as a question whether Beauxbatons would object to my preferred sleeping arrangements.

"We're French; it doesn't matter to us, although we've got nothing but stacked bunk beds in the rooms. If Molly doesn't object, why should I?"

I pushed Harry into the room. Mom either didn't notice or was too tired to object. We dropped our bags and brooms in the far corner and Harry placed his owl on a student desk. "I'm going to report to McGonagall on what we've discovered so far. She should know about the artifacts. The more minds thinking about the theft, the more likely we are to figure it out."

I was watching Harry write a rather long message and attach it to the owl's leg, when the door of our room opened and Mom announced that Ron and Hermione would bunk with us. "If there's any danger at all, I'd prefer having four wands in each room and our rooms as close together as possible. Remember, you've got your brooms, and these windows are large enough to fly from, if need be."

As Ron and Hermione entered the room Harry petted the bird a few times and then opened the window and threw the bird into the night. We watched the owl soar up and then fly around toward the back of the chateau. As we continue watching, we saw the bird complete its circuit of the chateau and change direction toward Britain.

"What do you think?" Hermione tossed out as an open-ended query.

"I don't think we're going to learn much more here," Harry replied. "I think we should check out Durmstrang in the morning. We can see what happened there and decide which site is a better use of our time. We can come back and tell Madame Maxine how Durmstrang successfully defended itself. She either didn't know, or isn't telling.

"There may well be something of value in what remains of the Flamel collection. They might have some further information on Flamels' experiments. The papers are in French and I don't think we could interpret them, although Fleur or Gabrielle could scan through them for us. It might not hurt to have a look at the artifacts, although I don't know how we'd detect whether they were enchanted or had any magical powers."

"You seem overly anxious to leave Beauxbatons," Hermione chided Harry. "It's more than a little rude, plus we have a lot more to learn, and not just about Flamel. I'd like to know more about the other artifacts. Professor McGonagall also made a point of wanting us to learn how the operation of these schools differs from Hogwarts. That will take some time. We haven't even met any of the teachers or students. Besides, if you rush us out of here, word is going to get back to Hogwarts that I was overly anxious to see Viktor, and the headmaster will have a laugh at my expense."

"That isn't even close to being funny," my brother responded, with a hint of real irritation.

"No, it isn't, but it is true. You know as well as I do that McGonagall's comments the other day will fill the Hogwarts rumor mill. If she said that to us, you can bet she mentioned it to several of her professors, before or after," Hermione held her ground. "We can see how much we learn tomorrow. Harry is right in the sense that Professor McGonagall wants the basic news from Durmstrang as quickly as possible. I can assure you that we won't be lingering there."

"I think it's time for sleep," Ron proclaimed. "We'll take the bunks on the left, you can have the ones on the right. This has been a long and eventful day."

"I'll take top bunk," Harry said. "I think we'll be safe, but let's keep our wands handy. "

Harry reached down from the top bunk, and I raised my arm so our fingers touched.

{Good night, Ginny. I love you.}

Just what I needed to put me in a good mood, and I happily dropped off to sleep with nary another thought.


	37. Chapter 37

**Chapter Thirty-Seven - Au Revoir**

I awoke to daylight and the realization that we had not been disturbed. Harry was still sleeping and snoring softly, but Ron and Hermione were already up and dressing. I got out of the lower bunk and tickled Harry's upper lip until he awoke. "Time for breakfast," I said. "We've passed a safe night and I hear movement further along the corridor."

When we left our dorm room, we could see quite a few students. We followed half a dozen of them to a fairly large room at the end of the long first floor corridor. Madame Maxine was already present and greeted us at the door, pointing us to the farthest table. There were already half a dozen students about to settle at the table, all girls who looked to be in their sixth or seventh year. Like the group that represented Beauxbatons at the Triwizard tournament, they were all tall and quite thin, in a very athletic way. The four of us walked over, and finding that the other students already had plates of food, I pointed at their plates and made questioning motions with my hands and shoulders. The students pointed toward the wall at right angles to our table and I saw a break in the corner of the wall. We walked to the opening and found ourselves in a small room in which a small table was stacked with plates, cups stacked atop themselves, and baskets of cutlery. A longer table was laden with platters holding a large variety of fruits and breads, but also cheeses, jams, ripe olives, and coffee. I smeared cherry jam on a large piece of crusty bread, grabbed a couple oranges, a piece of soft cheese, and a mug of coffee with sugar. The girl next to me in line commented in perfect, almost non-accented English, "The school keeps staff to a minimum, so we only cook one meal a day. The rest of our meals are purchased commercially. I'm Audrey, by the way."

She led me back to the table, where I sat next to a rakishly thin girl, with light brown hair that came all the way down to the seat of her chair. She had an elongated oval face, which was emphasized by pulling her hair back in a ponytail to make a naturally high forehead look even higher. She had an almost unnaturally elongated neck and very soft looking light brown eyes, I observed, my eyes hopping all over her body as I took in her features in a manner that I would certainly have objected to, had Harry done it. I think I just found her appearance to be very unusual. She turned to me with a pleasant expression and cracked, "I really enjoyed your pantomime, but should warn you that we all speak English."

As Harry dropped himself into the seat on the other side of me and gave me a happy smile, she continued, "My name is Audrey and I'm a sixth year. Am I correct in supposing that your friend is Harry Potter?"

"Yes, he is," I replied, "and I'm Ginny Weasley, also a sixth year. It's strange that the first two students that I meet are both Audreys."

"I'm Audrey Duquette; the Audrey you walked back with is Audrey Gilon. We're the only Audreys here. It's easy to tell us apart, she's blonde, I'm not." Then, in a whisper, "unlike some, I'm happy with the way my body was made."

Okay. I decided to change the subject, before blonde Audrey realized she was being talked about. "I was shocked to see how badly your school was damaged, it's like half of it was just squashed. I was also saddened to hear that so many students were killed or injured. You were hit worse than Hogwarts."

"Yes," she replied, "we have only sixteen girls and nine boys to a class, so thirty deaths is a lot, and then there were serious mental injuries. Some of the injured may not recover - they were unable to speak when the Ministry took them from here to the hospital. The Giants were unimaginably brutal. We didn't have anything like the Voldemort wars before, so this was just totally beyond anything we thought could happen in this world."

I expressed surprise at the large discrepancy between boys and girls.

"Yes," Audrey answered, "there are more girls than boys at Beauxbatons. Many French Wizards learn to farm or enter family businesses or apprentice programs, for jobs where magic is not needed. We French don't use magic as much in our daily lives as you British do. We are more modern. The boys who want to be Wizard police, wandmakers, healers, and the like come to Beauxbatons, the others do not. Half the boys who do come, only stay five years. Girls need more magical learning, because it is their responsibility to pass on magical skills to their children. We make potions for our families, but otherwise not a lot of magic is used in the home.

"Anyway, there are fewer boys, so the east wing housed all the boys and the seventh year girls. The upper classes defended the wing and protected the younger students. Almost all the sixth and seventh year boys and most of the seventh year girls were killed or injured. We have nobody left to graduate. A lot of my closest friends…"

I sensed she was close to tears, actually I think I saw tears, but really didn't know what to say. I mumbled "I'm really sorry, that must be just awful for you," and gave her shoulder a little squeeze. I am very uncomfortable in these situations and really don't know what I should do. Harry saw me comforting Margaret and thinks I'm good at this sort of thing, but I'm just not. Mom would have known exactly what to say to Audrey. She probably would have just given her a huge hug, but I didn't feel comfortable doing that.

I realized the others had sat down, when Neville replied, "That's awful. My parents have both been in St. Mungo's and unable to talk since they were attacked and tortured by Death Eaters when I was just a year old. I'm Neville Longbottom, by the way. I just graduated, but I'm now a professor at Hogwarts,"

"You're the boy who stood up to Voldemort and killed his snake, aren't you?" asked another sixth year, who identified herself as Daphne. Daphne stood out in this group by being quite short and blonde. Although she was almost as skinny as Audrey, her face was unaccountably rounded. Her blonde hair was short and spiky."

We performed introductions all around and learned the other girls were Sophie, Camille, and Cecile. Gabriele joined us, but Mom and Bill the auror were still standing over by the self-serve food room with Madame Maxine and two of her professors. I saw that Hagrid had joined them.

"Are you lot going to be spending the summer at the school?" asked Ron. "We've got some trips we need to make, but other than that we're staying at Hogwarts this summer."

"Yes," Gabriele answered, "we had planned to do research on the Flamel collection. There were going to be more of us, but with the casualties, there will be eleven students for the summer. I guess now we'll be helping with the restoration of the school as well as our academic research."

"What can you tell us about the Flamel collection?" Hermione eagerly prompted her.

Cecile was the first to describe her work. "Camille and I have been going through the Flamel papers, and focusing on his description of the properties of the Philosopher's Stone, what you call the Sorcerer's Stone. That may not seem particularly valuable, since the only known Philosopher's Stone has been destroyed. However, Flamel describes his searches for other Philosopher's Stones, which he believed existed, and upon his experiments and musings aimed at creating a new Philosopher's Stone. As far as I've gotten, he doesn't seem to have had much success on either of these endeavors, but there are some intriguing thoughts. Flamel believed the stone came from the lost Atlantean civilization mentioned by the Greeks and he speculates that there were many of them. There is no evidence for this in his papers. At least in the papers I've read thus far.

"The papers do dispel a lot of common myths about the Philosopher's Stone. It cannot turn one metal or element into another. It really does nothing to metals. It works more with plant and animal matter. It allows very complex and effective potions to be prepared, which are otherwise unobtainable. One of these potions promotes excellent health and greatly retards aging, but there are others. He talks about a potion which provides partial protection against many spells and another which protects against many lethal potions, with which an adversary might poison your food or drink. The Flamels needed protection against more than disease to reach the ripe old ages they achieved. That was all down to the stone and the potions the Flamels learned to make from it."

I cautiously asked her "did you read anything in the papers that related to what the Muggles call telepathy?"

"Mental communication at a distance," Hermione explained.

"No… I don't think so, but we've read not quite half the papers so far."

Blonde Audrey reported "Daphne and I have been investigating a ring from Flamel's collection, which he claimed to be the true ring of Joan d'Arc. Beauxbatons has always believed that Joan's ring was in our collection, so naturally this is a topic of great interest to us. There isn't a great deal of reliable historical documentation of the ring."

"I guess the loss of Joan's relics will end your research," I sympathized.

"Not at all," Daphne corrected me, "I was comparing the two rings the night of the attack, and had both of them on the study desk in my room…. My room's in the west wing, so I've still got both rings."

"Wow!" Harry sucked in his breath, "have you talked to Madame Maxine? She told us that Joan's ring was stolen, along with her sword and armor."

"I've been trying to find a good time to tell her," a sheepish Daphne whispered. "I should not have had either ring in my room at night. They are supposed to be locked up in the east wing."

"I wouldn't worry," interjected George. "I think Madame Maxime will agree that at times a little rule breaking can be a very good thing."

Gabrielle told us that "Sophie, Audrey Duquette, and I are working on a device that Flamel built for identifying places and objects that are magically enchanted. In his writings he says that the device can identify the areas where what he calls 'the lines of magical force' are strongest and the points where they are anchored. He describes how this knowledge can be used to make it easier to undo or circumvent the enchantment. There is a hint in what he wrote that he knew of horcruxes, and that his device could identify them. We haven't gotten that far with our research and can barely make the device work. We see a general pink glow if something is enchanted, but can't identify individual lines of magical force. The device does identify where the protective magical shield around the east wing of the chateau was destroyed, but only because that area looks dark and dead, rather than glowing pink.

"We've not been able to identify anchor points or do much to trace the magical lines. It's just early days. Audrey thinks the device is just very badly out of tune, but we haven't figured out how to fix. Actually, we've been afraid to try, until we understand it a lot better. Happily I also had the device and most of the related Flamel notes in my room on the night of the attack. Close to half of his notes were stolen, though, and I had not given those pages more than a quick scanning. Fortunately I took a few pages of notes, but they are as much questions about things I didn't understand as about definite instructions that made sense to me."

"It sounds as though your Flamel inheritance is a treasure trove," Hermione concluded. "I hope you'll show it to us before we leave this afternoon."

"Of course," most of the girls replied in unison.

"Madame Maxime mentioned that several Death Eaters were killed or captured. Do you know if any of them were identified?" asked Bill. "The Ministry will be very interested. We are trying to track the whereabouts of all the known British Death Eaters. I don't think we know the identities of most of your European Death Eater gang, but Madame Maxime said that some of your attackers spoke English."

"Then I'm afraid most of the names won't mean anything to you," answered Madame Maxime, who along with Hagrid had just joined our table. Mom and our Bill had been forced to a second table, along with the Beauxbatons staff and several students. "Two names should be very familiar to you – your fellow Englishman Dolohov was killed, and Karkaroff, whom you'll remember from the Triwizard Tournament as the former headmaster of Durmstrang, was captured. The others were descendents and diehard remnants of Grindelwald's old gang, mainly from Germany and other areas east of France. I'm not talking about rank and file soldiers in his army, but former members of his inner circle and their families. Our old gang appears to have made common cause with Voldemort's Death Eaters. We do have some French Grindelwald followers, but even they would not think of attacking children."

"We were discussing," said Harry, trying to appear very casual, "the research your students are conducting on the Flamel collection. Would it be possible for us to have a look before we leave? I was thinking, by the way, that it would be best for us to leave this afternoon and do a quick check up on Durmstrang, then we could come back here and report to you on what we've found."

"We'll be happy to show you our treasures," replied Madame Maxime, "and I'll be most interested in what you can learn at Durmstrang. We haven't heard much of their situation, and what we know was passed on to us from the Paris Ministry. Durmstrang and Beauxbatons haven't gotten along very well over the years, although I certainly know their new headmaster. We know that they were attacked at exactly the same time as Hogwarts, which leads me to believe they were considered a more important target than we were. A horde of Giants participated in the attack, but the Ministry's account, which I have great trouble believing, is that over a dozen Giants were killed. The rest of the Giants stopped fighting and left the area. This broke the attack and, although some of the attackers roamed the school grounds for a time, they apparently never succeeded in entering the castle. Dozens of attacking Wizards were killed and several more were captured. They were all members of the Grindelwald circle. I'd love to know how Durmstrang was so successful, since they didn't have the advance warning that we did."

"You know what bothers me," stated Luna as a non-question, showing she was both behind on the conversation and a little ahead of us in her thinking, "is that there were Giants involved in the attack on Beauxbatons. The Giants involved in the attacks on both Hogwarts and Durmstrang seemed to have given up the fight. We even had some of the Giants helping with the repairs at Hogwarts – we thought they had changed sides. This was at almost exactly the time that other Giants were attacking Beauxbatons. Perhaps they just regrouped and are still willing to fight for the other side."

"Or maybe the attack on Beauxbatons was just delayed for some reason, and it was an entirely different group than those who attacked the other two schools," Ron offered. "Giants can't apparate, so it probably takes a long time for one group to learn what happened to another group."

"They do send birds between groups," Hagrid offered "but since they don't have much of a written language, they couldn't send a complicated message. They may have two hundred written words in all. I've taught Grawp more than that, but over half his words are English, not Giant."

I was surprised that I hadn't thought at all about how the Giants communicated.

"Well, shall we look at the Flamel collection?" offered Madame Maxime. She led us up from the table and we carried our dirty breakfast ware to another small hole in the wall diagonal to where we were sitting. This opened up into a short corridor that led to a middling sized washing up and dishes storage area off what was left of the kitchen. The far wall of the kitchen had a gaping hole leading to what had been the Great Hall.

"The school servants will be along to wash up," Madame Maxime explained. "We have a rather small staff and we don't have kitchen Elves as Hogwarts does. In fact, there are very few house Elves in France."

"Why not?" Hermione asked, her interest clearly piqued.

"The Wizards and Elves over here did not join in the Elven Wars, so our Elves were never defeated and enslaved. Of course, we never had many Elves. Perhaps half the Elven families on the continent are refugees who fled Britain during the Elven wars. The Elves who work as house Elves are all free Elves, who are paid and can choose their own employment."

"How do they support themselves?" a surprised Hermione queried her. "The greatest fear of the British Elves whom I've talked to is that their masters will throw them out and they'd starve."

"Nonsense!" boomed Madame Maxime. "Certainly, close to half of the Elves in France work as paid domestic labor, although we don't have any at Beauxbatons, presently, but others knit, or farm, or work for the Ministry, or run a business. Elves are so hardworking and capable that the thought of them starving, if left to their own devices, is preposterous. There are one or two Wizard families who are almost fully acculturated into the French Muggle world. They use Muggle servants, but they cost more and don't produce the quantity or quality of work that Elves would, and their employers cannot perform magic in their presence. These families also have to live much like wealthy Muggles. It is not enough to just adopt electricity and Muggle communications in order to pass as Muggles. It really affects your whole life. French Wizarding families are much more modern than you are, but we are still definitely Wizards. We could not pass ourselves off as merely mildly eccentric if we had Muggle servants in our homes.

"Like here at Beauxbatons, Witches and Wizards serve as servants, but they are very expensive, compared to Elves. We hire them, as does the Ministry, so that our barely employables have work. Many are what you call Squibs, or at least the less intelligent among the Squibs. Squibs who can learn Muggle trades have no problem at all and remain attached to our community. They marry each other or the actively magical folk. We call them passive magicals, rather than Squibs. Squib sounds so insulting, don't you think."

As we returned to the first floor west wing corridor, Harry stopped and suggested to Mom, "We're not going to have sufficient time to survey the grounds and the exterior of the castle before we have to depart after lunch. Perhaps you, Hagrid, Grawp, and Bill, the auror, could get the grand tour and take notes for our report to Professor McGonagall. The rest of us can chat with the students about their summer projects and bring back notes for what students like us could do over the summer." Harry gave Mom an intense stare, but with a totally straight face, that said 'this is really important'.

"Of course, Harry," Mom replied, airily, "it does make sense to divide our efforts. There's no sense all of us traipsing through the classrooms." With that, she led the other party out toward the entry hall.

I touched Harry's neck as inconspicuously as I could

{[amusement] I just don't want Bill to learn more about the artifacts. I hope your Mom doesn't think I'm just being rude and overly bossy. Professor McGonagall did more or less leave Molly in charge of us.}

As we continued on our way and turned toward the classrooms, Daphne whispered something to Madame Maxime, who reversed course and let us back through the entry hall and up to the dorm rooms on the second floor of the west wing. "Daphne has some things to show us, in her bedroom," Madame Maxime stated matter of factly.

We all crowded into her room, as Daphne went to her desk, opened the top right-hand drawer, and pulled out a small lacquered wooden tray bearing two rings. She passed the tray around, so that we could each have a good look. "The one on the left is what our school has always called the Joan of Arc ring," Daphne explained, "While the one on the right is what Nicholas Flamel claimed to be the true Joan of Arc ring."

I stared at the rings as the tray was passed from Harry to me. Both appeared to be made of gold, and sized for a hand smaller than mine. Both were engraved "Jhesus" and "Maria", with the names separated and surrounded by crosses. The ring on the left was a little thicker and heavier, other than that, they differed primarily in the style of the lettering and the design of the crosses. The ring on the left featured double crosses, while the ring on the right had single, squared crosses. There was no way I could guess which was genuine. I shook my head and passed the tray on to Ron.

{[curious] I can't tell anything about them either. I wonder if Flamel's magic detector can distinguish them. }

"By the way." I asked, "do you also have Flamel's device for detecting lines of magical force in your bedroom?"

The girl, whom I knew as 'blond Audrey', seemed to be one of the four bunking with Daphne, and she went to the other desk in the room, opened the bottom left drawer, and pulled out a very curious object. She placed the object on a small plain wooden tray that had been sitting atop the desk, and passed the tray to me.

The object was largely made of thin copper rods and wires in the shape of a triangular prism about eight inches tall and about four inches on a side on the square base. A silver wire was attached to its apex, and I lifted it by the wire to get a closer look. There was a nearly transparent stone in the center, suspended by very thin copper wires from the apex and from a point where two slightly thicker copper wires from the corners of the base crossed at a point centered on the bottom square. All of the sides of this little pyramid were made of copper rods, about an eighth of an inch in diameter. All of the faces were completely open, except for the crossed wires at the base and one of the four triangular faces, which was filled with what appeared to be thin glass or almost completely transparent quartz, which was shaped to form a raised magnifying lens in the center.

"How does it work?" I asked.

"You orient either the base or the open face opposite the glass toward the object you want to test", 'other Audrey' replied, "then look through the lens at the central stone. It lights up according to the strength of the magical force, but it must be hanging free, from the silver wire on top."

As I was already holding the detector by its wire, I carried it over to the tray with the rings, which had, by now, passed along to George. I signaled to Harry and the others to block as much light as they could with their bodies. I centered it first on the single cross ring. Staring through the lens, I could barely make out a faint glow. I moved the detector about six inches to center it over the double cross ring. Looking through the lens at the stone in the center, I saw a brighter glow and even convinced myself that I could make out two brighter lines, curving away from a bright point in the center.

"The ring with the double crosses seems to have much more magical force," I reported, passing the detector to Hermione for confirmation.

Hermione squinted at the detector twice before rendering her confirming verdict, "Yes, definitely the ring with the double crosses. The other ring might have a tiny amount of magical force."

"I knew the Beauxbatons ring was genuine," declared Madame Maxime. "That cross takes the ancient form of the Cross of Lorraine. Joan was from Lorraine. The good news is that, thanks to these bad girls, the Death Eaters don't have Joan's ring, and likely can't make her armor perform its magical protections. Actually, I'm not quite sure what powers the armor and sword have without the ring. I'm hoping that they won't work very well."

Audrey looked embarrassed. "You probably wonder why we didn't use the Flamel device to compare the rings ourselves. Certainly the Beauxbaton ring was examined. We've worked separately on most of what we received from Flamel. Several years of student projects and we each want the best grade for ourself. The Flamel ring was not shared. It is a thing of shame. We are supposed to cooperate. To cooperate, but not to cheat, it is a fine line."

We spent the rest of the morning studying the artifacts and pouring over the Flamel papers: basically, as Ron said, "looking at the pictures", while getting a translation from Fleur or one of the Beauxbatons students. Most of our readings were from the section of the papers where Flamel discussed the Sorcerer's Stone. He had tried to analyze it, both by trying to dissolve minute bits of it in water or alcohol and testing the solution in a flame, to identify metals. He had impinged a flame on the surface of the stone in an attempt to tease out its composition. He had shined a bright light through it and convinced himself it was crystalline. He had measured its density, studied it with a magnifying apparatus he had made from pieces of a Muggle microscope, and even taken it to a Muggle friend who worked in an analytical lab at a University which he declined to name. He concluded that the stone was a nearly perfect twelve-sided crystal, a little over three times the density of water, and made largely of plant proteins with some silver, gold, copper, and sugars. He hadn't worked out the exact chemical composition and was nowhere close to recreating the stone. We were musing over all of this, when Madame Maxime said it was time for lunch.

We retraced our steps to the same room in which we had picked up our food and cutlery for breakfast. Along the way, I heard Harry mention to Madame Maxine in a loud whisper, "Your attackers will likely come back for the ring. Make sure your defenses are strong, especially any weak point that the other group identified during the tour you just gave for the other half of our group."

As we entered the serving room to collect our lunch, we found that the other group had arrived just ahead of us. Seeing them, Madame Maxime did not say a word, but shot Harry a very conspiratorial glance. I'm sure she wondered about the divisions within our delegation.

For lunch, there was a warming tray of thin crepes, and other trays with thin asparagus, and with crab meat in a rich-looking white sauce. There were also carafes of white wine. Madame Maxime demonstrated the proper way to fill and roll the crepes and we all filled our glasses, made our crepes, grabbed our cutlery, and followed her to the two far tables.

At lunch, Mom and Madame Maxime sat with us, while both Bills, Hagrid, and George were at the second table with the rest of the Beauxbatons staff. Lunch was excellent, if very different from the Hogwarts' fare. My large glass of wine left me feeling slightly tipsy. Most of the lunch conversation was between Harry and Mom or Madame Maxime.

"We'll be back here as soon as we can. Perhaps we can learn something at Durmstrang that can help in your defense of Beauxbaton's," Harry promised. "I really want to know how they were so successful in thwarting the attack and keeping the Giants from breaching their castle. I sent an owl to Professor McGonagall last night and asked her to send any return message here, by the same owl. It's a large bird, all snowy white."

"That will be fine," replied Madame Maxime.

Turning to Mom, Harry continued, "Thank you for babysitting Bill, Molly. I'm not sure that I trust him and I didn't want him to know about the artifacts we were examining. We're going to need him to apparate us to Durmstrang, since none of the rest of us have been there, but then I'd appreciate it if you could send him home to report to Professor McGonagall and the Ministry. Whatever the secret to Durmstrang's successful defense, I'd prefer we learn it after Bill is safely gone. I also don't want him to know about Hermione's parents in Australia."

"I'll do that," replied Mom, "even though I know the Minister trusts Bill with his life. The Minister, and Arthur, and Professor McGonagall agreed that we wouldn't saddle your group with someone that you don't personally trust. That's why Professor Slughorn isn't on this trip. Personally, I'd say you were being silly, if it weren't for the bombs in Arthur's office. Still, I hope we won't find ourselves short of experienced fighters, if we encounter problems. I understand you're not back to tip top shape as a fighter."

This was starting to get awkward and Harry was starting to flush. I didn't need to be within a few inches to sense his mood. "Really, Mom, I've been dueling with Harry and he is doing so much better. I think he was just mentally tired after the Battle of Hogwarts. Besides, you and I are very good fighters and so are Neville and George."

Mom just replied, "alright, dear," but looked both skeptical and a little embarrassed that she had raised this particular topic in the presence of our hosts. This gave Harry time to recover and act as if nothing untoward had happened.

"Thank you," Harry replied. "I know it seems like a silly request, and we really do appreciate all of you humoring us. Truth is, we're used to working alone, but I also can't help wonder if Bill was associated with Lucius Malfoy's attack. Anyway, the Minister and Professor McGonagall will still have you and Hagrid to watch over us at Durmstrang."

"Yes, dear," Mom repeated herself, with just a hint of doubt. "We have just about enough time to write up our reports for Professor McGonagall. Bill can carry them back for us. After you write yours, I'll encrypt it using a spell that Professor McGonagall gave me for this very purpose."

Harry went to an empty classroom with Mom to write their reports, while the rest of us continued to chat with Gabrielle and the other Beauxbatons students. I tried to determine if any of them had seen anything in the FlameI papers, which seemed to pertain to experiments on the mental transmission of thoughts. None of the girls remembered reading of this, although they admitted that they had not done more than the briefest cataloging of half the stolen pages and couldn't begin to say what was in them.

"You know something strange," Gabrielle began, "there were large gaps in the chronology of the papers which Flamel sent to us. I'm sure we never had his full collection."

I thanked the girls for all of their help and promised Gabrielle that we would visit her parents' home with Bill and Fleur after we returned from the next leg of our trip. An hour later, Harry and Mom joined us and it was time to depart.

We collected our things from the dorm and walked down to the paddock to pick up Grawp. Avoiding the horse droppings, we formed a circle at the edge of the paddock and linked arms. Two twisting and turning minutes later, with only slight head and stomach unpleasantness, we apparated beside a giant wrought iron gate, at least fifteen feet tall. The air was cooler and seemed a bit thinner than it had at Beauxbatons and between gaps in the hedge and trees in back of us, I could tell that we were surrounded by mountains. At that moment, a half dozen staff appeared at the gates with wands drawn.


	38. Chapter 38

**Chapter Thirty-Eight – Durmstrang**

"I'm Harry Potter, with a delegation from Hogwarts to meet with Victor Krum." Harry shouted, his arms spread and hands open, to show he wasn't a threat. The defenders didn't fire any curses at us, but also didn't lower their wands. "I'm Hermione Grainger, and I'm a friend of Victor's from the Triwizard Tournament," called Hermione. "I'm sure he'll really want to talk to me."

"We'll tell Headmaster Krum that you're here," the oldest of the defenders growled back. "All of you keep your hands empty and in front of you, and keep that Giant back from the gate. Take half your party with him."

Hagrid guided Grawp down the lane and the two of them sat down on the verge, a good hundred and fifty feet from the gate. Both Bills, Fleur, George, and Luna went with them. They all sat on the verge, trying to look as harmless as possible. After watching them and us for another minute, the older staffer whispered to one of the students and sent him back in the direction that we assumed led to the castle.

"What are you doing here?" he asked. "We were just attacked in the last week, and we aren't anxious to entertain visitors."

"We were attacked too," Mom said, "and we wanted to compare notes, in case there is another attack. My name is Molly Weasley and I'm the wife of our Deputy Minister of Magic. I have messages for your headmaster from Minister Shacklebolt and from Headmaster McGonagall of Hogwarts."

We stood with our hands figuratively in the air, looking very innocent, for the next fifteen minutes until Victor Krum arrived. He was flanked by an additional half dozen staff and students, all with wands drawn. Victor, himself, was a picture of nonchalance, walking jauntily with his empty hands swinging by his sides.

"No jealousy, Ron," Hermione whispered. "I have to give Victor a big hug and kiss, so I can whisper Harry's plan to him. I'll also tell him that you and I are together. Okay?"

"Sure," muttered an unhappy Ron.

"Her-my-own," shouted Viktor, motioning for his staff to open the gate. Hermione stepped forward and Victor rushed out and threw his arms around her, kissing her on both cheeks but, I noticed, not on her lips. They embraced for about a minute, whispering in each others' ears, and then Victor turned to his staff, saying something in German, which caused them to lower their wands. "It's okay," he said in English, addressing our whole group. "You may come in, including your friends down the road."

We moved toward the gate and Harry waved to Hagrid and the others to join us. "Thank you, Viktor," Harry said formally, "we've just come from Beauxbatons, and we have much to discuss. I think, perhaps, we should confine ourselves to the outside of the castle and very general discussion of the attack, until our auror friend goes back to give his report to the Ministry."

"Yes, yes, Hermione warned me to be careful of him, but not to insult him, since your Minister trusts him."

"Exactly," Molly agreed, as the second half of our contingent walked up. "Let me introduce the rest of our delegation."

Introductions followed all around, and we learned that all of the students in the welcoming party were sixth years, with Hans Decker being their leader and equivalent of head boy. A smaller boy, Jacub Krot, who was Czech rather than German, seemed the only student with an interest in being friendly. The Professors were Heimbach, Professor of History, Schmidt, Professor of Potions, Henkle, Professor of Magical Engineering, and Schwein, Professor of Magical Dueling.

"Let's walk to the castle, and I will show you the damage and explain the attack against us," Viktor announced, leading us along a narrow gravel path about a body's length inside the wall. There was a bramble hedge as tall as Victor running up against the inside of the wall, which had been neatly trimmed to a width of about four feet. We hadn't walked far, before we came upon a twenty foot gap in this hedge. As we drew nearer, I could tell from the color of the mortar and the cleaner stones, that the wall itself had been rebuilt at this point. Viktor shortly confirmed as much, "Here is where the Giants smashed through the wall. They ran across the grounds in this direction." Viktor led us along the Giants' route. As we followed their path, I saw signs of damaged bushes, a felled sapling, and then a hole through a swath of tall evergreen trees, fronted by another hedge. As we reached that opening, the castle was visible beyond.

The Durmstrang castle was quite different from ours. It was smaller, but also much more compact and squarish. Actually, it was basically a cube, with rounded turrets sticking up at each corner, but the turrets were rather short, business-like affairs. It was a rather dingy and uniform grey-brown thing, with the only embellishment being a large red and white banner jutting out from the entrance. It did not give the sprawling impression of different realms being added on, almost at whim, that Hogwarts castle gave to the initial viewer.

Viktor continued to lead us toward the front entrance of the castle, pointing out large divots in the grass, which he said were caused by Giants. "Thirty Giants rushed through here on the path we're taking in the attack on the castle. They were preceded by twenty hooded men, mainly remnants of Grindelwald's crew, who worked at dismantling the magical protections. Of course we knew they were coming from their attack on our outer wall. We lost one sixth year boy in that initial attack, but it gave us time to withdraw everyone to the castle and secure it. Since the attack started at 7:00 at night, most of us were in the castle already. We merely withdrew the drawbridge and activated our defenses."

As we drew closer to the main entrance, I saw what he was referring to. Their castle had an operating moat and drawbridge. The drawbridge was a fairly sturdy eight foot wide affair that spanned the twenty foot wide moat, but could be pulled up flush against the castle entrance, providing an additional bar in front of the main doors. Walking across the drawbridge, I looked over the side and saw that the bottom of the moat was studded with sharp pointed stones, like spear tips, and sharpened wooden rods. The wooden rods nearest to the drawbridge had been broken off. Hermione noticed the same thing and remarked to Viktor.

"The Giants attacked across the moat at this point. They hardly noticed the wooden stakes. You can see ports up above," Viktor said pointing, to two hollow cylindrical stone protrusions high above the entrance door. "We poured boiling fat on them from those ports. I guarantee you they did notice that. We also have a large tank of gasoline, purchased from the Muggles, which we used to flame the moat. That kept them at bay until we ran out of gas. That has to be used sparingly, in any case, or you end up with no breathable air inside the castle. You can see how sheer the walls of the castle are as they rise out of the moat. There's nothing to get a hand hold for climbing, at least for a man. Unfortunately, the taller giants could reach the lower windows. The windows were far too narrow for them to enter, and they fortunately were unable to pound their way through the stone, which is two meters thick. We were fighting them and the Wizards from those lower slit windows, as well as the higher windows on the third level. If you'll all turn around and recross the drawbridge, we can walk around the moat. I have some other things to show you."

Viktor squeezed through our ranks and led us in a counter-clockwise circuit of the mote. His guard had stayed outside the moat and formed up on his sides as he led us. "You can see a few spots where there are big depressions in the ground on this side of the moat. The Giants felled trees and placed them across the mote and against the building. It gave them the ability to clamber up the tree trunks to the third level windows and even to reach the turrets. You can see," he said, leading us round the castle to a point where we could study one of the rear turrets, "they pretty much demolished this particular turret. Much of the fighting occurred here, with Giants fighting from the tree trunks and Wizards flying at us on brooms and landing on the roof. We lost two Professors and a dozen boys fighting up here. Fortunately, they did not choose this line of attack until after we had thinned their forces, when they made futile attempts to cross the moat and attack the main entrance. If they had attacked the turret and roof while they had their full numbers, we might have been overrun. Watch that hole and follow me to the rear of the castle."

There was a smallish wooden door, no larger than the doors into a Hogwarts dorm room, high up on the rear wall of the castle. "This is our secondary exit. It's wide enough for a large student to fit through and fly off on a broom. The door is a foot thick and the wall is especially thick in this area. As you can probably tell, a fair amount of fighting occurred at this point. The black scorch on the wall is from the burning oil we dumped on the attacking Giants. Two whole trees burned in place here after the Giants dropped them and the oil set them afire. The door was never breeched. It opens outward and rests on solid rock for several inches all around. Still, I imagine the Giants would have pounded through, without the burning oil and all the curses we shot at them. We didn't lose a single defender at this spot."

There were no important sights to see on the rest of our circuit and we soon found ourselves back at the front of the castle, seated on the drawbridge. Mom said she wanted to quickly write a short summary for Professor McGonagall, covering all we had seen here. "With the delayed attack on Beauxbatons, I feel that the headmistress must have this information and our Beauxbatons reports as quickly as possible. Another attack on Hogwarts could happen at any time. Just give me a few minutes to sit here and scribble out my notes, and then I'll ask Bill to apparate back to Hogwarts with the reports. He's gotten us to our final destination and we can manage by ourselves from here. If Hogwarts is in danger, that is where Bill should be."

Bill, the auror, looked none too pleased and started to object, but Mom just raised her hand to silence him. "It's unfair for us to keep you here, knowing how badly Hogwarts may need you," she said in dismissal. She tapped the note with her wand to code it, folded it, sealed it with wax, and handed it to Bill. "I wish you a pleasant trip back, and I'll be seeing you back at Hogwarts in a few days."

Bill took the note, stepped back, and vanished. I was not the least saddened to see him gone.

"Given our recent adventures with Giants, I suppose Hagrid and Grawp should remain outdoors with my guard, while we're free to go inside and chat," Viktor announced, adding with great portent, "there's a particular secret that we used to defeat the Giants. I normally wouldn't share it, but I wouldn't want Herm-my-own to be trampled by a Giant before she tires of this boy, Ron. Come, I'll show our little trick to you."

I heard Hermione whisper "don't be an ass" to Viktor. I doubt she realized that I, or anyone, could overhear her soft whisper. I could tell that my brother had just assumed that she had whispered something very different than what I heard.

Viktor led us into the entry hall and up a flight of narrow, tightly curved stairs to the second level. We exited the stairs through a narrow door. On our left was a single large room, while the door on the right led into a corridor of what appeared, from the only room I could see, to be classrooms. We turned left and the room we entered seemed to be some sort of gym or training room, almost half as large as our Great Hall at Hogwarts.

"This is where we train the bodies and fighting skills of our students," Viktor said. "When I was doing research in our library, I found in the restricted storage that I could access as headmaster, a centuries-old record of a curse that I had never heard of, and which apparently had not been used for over four centuries. It is called the 'X-term-ee-nate! Curse', and was apparently invented to fight Giants, at a time when they were far more prevalent and aggressive than today. It's a unique curse, in that it is launched by two Wizards, using two wands touched together. I've found that it works best if the two Wizards are very close and have developed a strong personal bond. This is because it requires great cooperation – the Wizards must act simultaneously – and because it is so draining on the user that they must trust and help each other. The Wizards must think and act as one. If they hesitate at the crucial moment of attack, the spell rebound could devastate them. Although we needed this curse to fight the Giants, two students are still in hospital, unable to talk, from injuries sustained from a rebound during training.

"This curse also has the added value for you legalistic Brits that, despite its power, it is not a banned curse. Of course, it's impossible to ban something you don't know exists," he grinned. "But, enough words, let me demonstrate… Pavel, let's show these good people."

First, Viktor walked us to the far end of the room to let us examine three weighted dummies backed by bags of sand. Then he led us to back to the far end of the room and the door through which we had entered. Pavel stood waiting, wand in hand. "Now then," said Viktor, standing next to Pavel and grasping Pavel's right hand with his left, "we touch the end of our wands together, focus, and 'X-term-ee-nate!'" A lightning bolt sprung from the joined ends of their wands and exploded against the dummies, throwing them violently against the pile of sand bags. "Eighteen of the twenty Giants that we killed, were killed with my curse," Viktor gloated.

"Now, before I ask you to practice, and this is too strenuous to let you have more than one practice try each, I'll tell you what you must think and visualize, if you are to execute this curse successfully. You must feel joined with your partner and you must focus all of your mental and physical energy on the curse. Think that you are pouring energy out of your chest, through your arm to your wand, and joining with your partner's energy to hurl a ball of force at your opponent. Visualize the force traveling faster and faster to a target that you have locked your focus on. Now, this is very, very important – you and your partner must be aiming for the exact same target point, or your energies will fight each other, cancel, and perhaps even rebound back onto you. When you pronounce the curse, do it in perfect unison. This increases its strength and prevents rebound. Also very important, you must be brave and bold, like true Durmstrang warrior. If you let fear or timidity invade either of your minds, the results, they will not be good. So…. Confidence, confidence, confidence and then even more confidence, you must be very bold. Now, I let you form into pairs and practice pronouncing the words in unison. Wait! I must finish instructions. Do NOT have your hand on your wand, while you pronounce the curse."

We paired up: me and Harry, Hermione and Ron, Mom and Neville, Bill with Fleur, and Luna with George. We were perhaps a little nervous, but determined to learn to become five mean fighting machines that could fell one of the attacking Giants that I suspect we all believed were destined to be a part of our immediate future.

Harry and I went to a corner of the room, faced the wall and joined hands.

{[confidence/determination] I know we can do this. This is just what we should have had to face the Giants. We really trust each other, so we have a big head start at doing this right. With this link, we can also perfectly synchronize our pronunciation of the curse. Are you ready? Good! One, two, three 'X-term-ee-nate!' I think that was really good. Let's try again. One, two, three 'X-term-ee-NATE!' Super, I think we've got it.}

Harry dropped my hand and we turned to watch the others, who were having a little more trouble working toward synchronicity. Within several minutes, everyone seemed happy with their performances, and turned to await further instructions from Viktor.

"Okay, now we practice for real," Viktor announced. "Remember, when you try to be brave with an attacking Giant… this curse always worked when we used it. We dropped even the largest charging Giant right where he stood. So, trust me, it works. Be brave. Your turn to shoot the dummies. We start with Herm-my-own and Ron."

"I distinctly remember practicing with you for an hour to pronounce my name correctly," Hermione mused aloud tartly, in fact doing all but the stamping foot routine. "If I can learn to pronounce your curse properly in five minutes, I'm sure I gave you ample time to pronounce a simple name like Hermione, especially since your English is otherwise almost perfect."

"I'm just teasing you and the Ron boy, Hermione," Krum replied with an impish look, "although I do like sound of Her-my-own. Now, stop stalling and let's see what the two of you can do together."

Ron and Hermione placed themselves very deliberately, so that they faced the middle dummy squarely and head on. They joined hands, touched wands, squinted and screwed up their faces, and then "X-term-ee-nate!" The dummies were thrown around to dramatic effect.

"That was very good," Krum complimented them, "sorry to tease, but I actually help you. Anger makes the curse easier and stronger. The key is to let anger or determination beat fear. Impossible to be very angry and very afraid. You can't hold back or keep any compassionate thoughts for your attackers in your brain. You must want to destroy them, utterly and totally. Remember, this is not a curse for dueling; it is a cannon for war against those who have come to slaughter you and your friends. Or, in my case, those students whom I swore duty to protect."

Our turn was next and I walked up to the line with Harry, confident not only that our secret skill would allow us to excel at this drill, but determined that Harry would cast aside all his demons with this one great curse. We grabbed hands and touched the tips of our wands together.

{[supreme confidence] Okay, let's do it. Aim middle of the chest on the center dummy. One, two, three, 'X-term-ee-NATE!' Wow! I didn't think it would work quite so well [swelling pride] We make quite a team.}

The center dummy had quite literally exploded, while the other two were roughly hurled to either side.

"That's the way to do it!" enthused Viktor, "even though we'll have to continue with just the two dummies."

The other three teams took their turn and all performed better than adequately. Viktor dished out encouragement to all. As we drew together in a group, he concluded, "Now you know our secret weapon. I hope you never use it, but fear you must, and very soon. The Giants are not yet completely settled. Voldemort and Grindelwald's successor Meier Hyack made them promises, which of course he never intend to keep, and filled the younger Giants' heads with visions of conquest and a return to what was described as their 'rightful place in the world, enough land for the whole tribe of Giants to prosper and have dominion over the Muggles, and even Wizards, who now inhabit those lands' – something like all of Bavaria and half of Austria and Switzerland-if I remember my Giant history correctly. Let's go to my office and talk some more."

Viktor led us back past the opening to the circular stairs and into the narrow hallway we had seen as we ascended to this floor. As we entered this hallway he turned right, and we saw that the hall flowed right into a large office, which filled this entire corner of the second level. What's more, the room had circular wrought-iron stairs, which ascended into the turret, above Krum's office. The room had two windows, and Viktor had positioned his desk between one window and the metal stairs, so that the ceiling expanded above his head, up into the turret. He motioned for us to grab chairs from around the room and pull them up in a semi-circle in front of his desk. The positioning reminded me of a group of first year girls, about to receive a scolding from McGonagall.

"I am very interested to hear your accounting of the battles of Hogwarts and Beauxbatons," Viktor Krum declared, "but first, I have just one more comment about our secret weapon. I have said that this is not a weapon for duel, but that is not totally true. I have no record of it being used by one Wizard in a duel with another, but I have thought about a way of doing so. Harry has the experience to understand what I will say. When two Wizards lock in a duel, as Harry locked with Voldemort as they used the twin wands, I think the two form a linked pair. If one of the pair launch the 'X-term-ee-nate!' curse, I think that this be as mis-timed curse and create an extreme big rebound on other Wizard, while not harm the Wizard who use my curse. Much too dangerous to test for practice, my idea only. It is something to try only if you lock up with another Wizard and fear that you lose. If any of you test this theory, I eagerly await a telling of the results. Also, I trust you will understand both why I did not want Hagrid or Grawp here for this lesson, not that Grawp could get up stairs, but also that you will keep our secret to yourselves – perhaps a few trusted others at Hogwarts and Beauxbatons. I don't want any Ministry hearing of this. Now, if you please to tell me of attacks at other schools."

As at Beauxbatons, we took turns telling our tale, except this time, of course, the tale was twice as long. Viktor nodded his head sagely as we concluded, saying "It is much as I had heard by way of rumors, but details help. In addition to my secret weapon, I think the design of Durmstrang and our history as warriors save us. I'm surprised at the extent to which the Voldemort and Grindelwald forces and Giants cooperated. I not know that Voldemort's Wizards fight at Beauxbatons. It is very strange. Lots of hate between those two."

"If I might pursue a topic that came up at Beauxbatons and is of great interest to me," Hermione began very slowly, "I'm impressed by the quality of research that you've done in the Durmstrang archives. Beauxbatons has their students involved in research of both written archives and artifacts in the school's custody. I'm really not aware of anything as advanced at Hogwarts."

"Well, Hermione, that wasn't really question, but I answer. On the Continent, Wizards did not… what I should say… worship Great Families, as in Britain. The Great Families' greatest interest, see my English is good enough to pun, was to prevent change that might weaken their power over other Wizards. They oppose education in general and the inventors in particular. That made your Wizards more degenerate than ours.

"We suffer from other maladies. Especially in Germany and East Europe, only male Wizards are educated to the highest level. You didn't see any girls in our company to Triwizard Tournament or at the school now, because there aren't any above third year. Most girls don't come here at all, they study for three or four years at small schools near their villages, or even at home with their mothers. Unfortunately, we still follow the old German maxim 'kinder, kuchen, und kirchen'."

Being confronted by blank stares, Viktor translated, "children, kitchen, and church – the only traditionally allowed spheres for the Muggle German women, back in the days when our Wizard culture formed. German Muggle women moved on, but we have not. That's partly what made an intelligent, well-educated Witch, such as you, so appealing, Hermione. Not that you aren't unique in all the world, but you cannot imagine how unique you are here. Here, a Witch who excelled as a third-year at Durmstrang is regarded as extremely well educated. Some would still say too well educated."

"That's, that's really terrible," Hermione gasped, "but clearly, Durmstrang draws from a larger area than just Germany. After all, Karkarov isn't a German name."

"No, it's not. About half our students are German or Austrian. That's how the school started. But we get students from Eastern Europe, Switzerland, and as far as the Urals in Russia. Wizards are pretty scarce on the ground to the east, and only a small fraction come here. They make German Wizards look modern. Durmstrang is a lot smaller than Hogwarts, only 175 students, including the girls in low levels. Wizards on the Continent, and especially in East, were what the Muggles call 'collateral damage' in their last war. Half the Wizarding population in East killed, and many in Germany. You can hide a house with Fidelis Charm, but that is no protection from big bomb, or giant fire, or just starvation. That is our biggest problem. There are almost as many Wizards in Britain as there are on whole Continent. If we not careful with Wizard killing Wizard, we be as close to extinction as Giants."

"Where do the other Wizards in the East go for education?" Hermione inquired. "They don't come to Hogwarts and there was no sign of them in Beauxbatons."

"Many learn at home, many not learn much," Viktor replied simply, "but do not assume there are only three Wizard schools in world. There are more than in Triwizard Tournament, which certainly are three largest. There is small school on Greek island of Lesbos, smaller school in Egypt, near Alexandria, one outside Haifa, in Israel. I find these in library. I hear rumors of school in India, but I know not where, and small schools in Australia and the Americas. Probably be others, those are only ones I know."

"Why haven't we heard of these other schools and Wizard communities?" asked my brother, determined to interrupt what was fast becoming a private conversation between Hermione and her old friend, Viktor.

"Why don't the Muggles know of us?" Viktor rejoined. "Wizards forced to become good at hiding in plain sight. If discovery by Muggles is bad, discovery by other Wizards may be even worse."

"You've given us a lot to think about," Harry said, "but my thoughts are also turning more fearful of a repeat attack on Beauxbatons, especially if our auror friend passed on word of the remaining artifacts. I don't want to be rude and take off before dinner, but we do need to get back soon."

"We're only an hour from dinner, my friend," Viktor replied, "but I certainly will understand should you choose to leave immediately after eating. This gives me time to give you more tips on secret weapon. First, it is very physically draining, so each team should not use it more than twice in a single day, and never less than thirty minutes apart. The body must recharge. Second, eat and drink well after, to build strength. You can do regular curses in addition to secret weapon, but do not become over tired. Finally, you can hit wide target, if focus on an area, like ten feet across, at distance. Now you know all that I know."

"You seem to have taken to teaching and leadership remarkably quickly," Mom complimented Viktor.

"It was a responsibility that fell to me when Headmaster Karkaroff vanish. The parents need reassurance, and I was Quidditch star and Triwizard Tournament champion for Durmstrang, so my name come to top. I do the best I can and find I much enjoy teaching and exploring old records as much as I enjoy Quidditch."

"I'm curious," asked George, "how do your students support themselves after they graduate from Durmstrang?"

"We do not have big Ministry, not like Britain, where everybody work for Ministry," Viktor said in partial response. "There is small four-person Ministry office in Stuttgart. So, our students do not have Ministry office to fall into. Some are farmers, some are tradesmen or merchants. The early guilds had many Wizards. I guess the majority of male Wizards in Germany are employed by Muggles, who have no idea that they are Wizards. German Witches marry right after they complete third year and remain in home. You think with this early marriage that Wizarding families be large, but they average only two children. That is problem, especially with war, and especially since not all Wizards marry. Unlike Hogwarts, our Professors marry." I swear, he looked straight at Hermione and locked eyes as he continued, "I am only unmarried Professor at Durmstrang. I am considered big catch, but third years do not hold much appeal to me." He broke eye contact with Hermione and continued, "The only Witch who is a Professor here is Helga Schmidt, wife of our potions professor. She teach physiology and healing arts. She also run infirmary. You will meet her at dinner, which I arrange outside on lawn, so Hagrid and Grawp can eat with us. I feel bad about excluding them from our meeting, but castle not built for them, and I doubt they enjoy hearing about great new way to kill Giants."

With that, Viktor led us out of his office for a quick tour of the castle, before going down for dinner. The other end of the corridor we entered from his office was lined with six classrooms on one side of the hall, and six offices for professors across from the classrooms. We made a U-shaped circuit of these rooms, ending up back on the spiral staircase and up to the third level. This level was devoted entirely to dorm rooms for the boys and two large baths. At the end of the corridor, Victor led us up a circular metal stairway to a small dorm room for eight first year girls. "Two of the turrets hold rooms for second and third year girls. The turret above my office is library. Students enter with my permission, and there is room for four at a time. We eat in training room, where we practiced. There is small kitchen at rear of first floor. The old dungeons are now potions lab, office for potions professor, storage, hot water heating, and sleeping room for three goblins and two trolls, who work at school. Two of goblins turned traitor in battle, and are no longer living. They kill two students and wound a professor. There is lesson in there somewhere. Treat your staff well but watch them very well. Bad treatment of other magical creatures always come back and bite Wizards where we sit."

We were now at the main entrance and traipsing out onto the grounds, where long tables had been set up and several wild boars were being roasted in a pit. Hagrid seemed to be having a grand time, assisting with the preparation of the boars. I wondered if he had participated in hunting them down. I realize that I probably talk too much about eating, but being an athlete builds the appetite and food leads to conversation, which often yields important facts. I'll just say that there is something primal about a wild boar roast and that watching Grawp's uninhibited joy in consuming staggering quantities of roast boar was heartwarming. I enjoyed the boar, but found it a bit gamy, and not up to the standards of Beauxbatons or Hogwarts. Okay, write me off as a snob.

Little new information of value emerged over dinner, other than that Viktor had decided to keep a dozen of his best students over the summer break as added protection. I could sense a lovers' spat simmering between my brother and Hermione, as the very impressive Viktor continued to flatter and pay unduly close attention to Hermione's smallest wish during the course of the dinner. All in all, I was not unhappy when Pavel's polite acknowledgement of Harry's victory in the TriWizard Tournament was met with a fierce rebuttal from a student we hadn't met.

After shouting something in German that shocked Pavel into silence and left him open mouthed, the student turned to Harry and snarled in quite good English "I told Pavel to shut up and not insult us. Everyone know you cheat. Your whole school cheat. Our Viktor the best and he win if not you cheat. Shame! Durmstrang guest and little school, but big Hogwarts cheat to win. Whole thing joke to make Brits feel good. Next we do fair at Durmstrang. Do it correct and not cheat. Then we win."

From his expression, Viktor agreed with his student, but was a little upset that he had voiced these views. Harry stepped in, admitting "yes, we cheated. Diggory and I didn't mean to cheat, but Voldemort and Barty, Jr. cheated for us. We never should have had two contestants, and holding the contest at Hogwarts gave us an advantage. Viktor was the best, but he was also a lot older. The whole thing was tainted."

Viktor chose not to add to Harry's explanation. Things were a tad more subdued as we finished our dessert of apple pie 'mit schlag', which was a delightfully sweet, thick, rich, fresh cream. As were preparing to leave. Harry invited Viktor and a party of his choosing to visit us, saying we'd certainly be back at Hogwarts in a week and could entertain them at any time. I doubt McGonagall would object to this invitation. Besides, she wasn't here, and it was the polite thing to do. Viktor sort of apologized for his irate student: "I apologize for Werner. He is rude to my guest, but cannot fault for thinking I am the best." At least he winked as he finished that sentence.

After dinner, as we were collecting our things and getting ready to apparate back to Beauxbatons, Hagrid approached us with a very serious expression on his face. "Grawp and me can't go back with you. Hope ter catch you before you leave to find Hermione's parents. We're going to the home of the Giants. Can't say if we'll be able to stop them and settle 'em down, but this is a bad business – too many Giants fighting and getting themselves killed. Giant leaders have trouble backin' down from a fight once they start. If I don't do sumpin' they're going to be wiped out. I talked to them once before, for Professor Dumbledore, and it's time for me to try again." We all hugged Hagrid good bye and wished him well on his journey, clearly remembering how beaten up he had been after his last visit to the Giants. We knew that the current leader of the Giants did not like Hagrid.

"Please be more careful than you were last time," said Harry.

"Don't worry", Hagrid replied, I've got Grawp and me wand now, I reckon we can take care of ourselves. I'll apparate to Hogwarts if things turn nasty. This be what I have me wand back fer."


	39. Chapter 39

**Chapter Thirty-Nine – Attacked in the Night**

Since we all had a clear impression of the lane in front of the main gate at Beauxbatons, we apparated individually, following Harry's instruction to come in seven feet above the ground, wands at the ready, for safety. The flight was uneventful and we gently lowered ourselves to the ground and Fleur rang the bell. It was Gabrielle who appeared at the gate and she admitted us at once. "Is everything alright here?" Harry tensely queried her. "We've been worried that the Giants will attack you again. The good news is that we've learned of a way to stop them."

"No problem, Harry, everything is good," were the last words she spoke in English, during our walk up to the chateau. She and Fleur conversed in French, with the rest of us listening silently in amusement as we stretched our legs and bodies after the long dinner and the apparate. As we crossed through the main entrance, Gabrielle announced, "Madame Maxine will want to talk to you immediately. She is in her new office. I'll take you to her."

We were led farther down the west wing corridor than we had been during our prior visit. Madame Maxime's office was in the last room of the corridor, and was half the size of Viktor Krum's office. It was sparsely furnished, with several student desk and chairs facing an improvised desk of two big beams supported on stumps. The Madame appeared to be correcting papers, but looked up as soon as we entered. There weren't enough chairs for all of us, so Harry, Luna, Hermione, Ron, and I sort of leaned against the walls. Harry immediately launched into a description of what we had learned at Durmstrang, with Hermione and Mom filling in whatever facts Harry had left out.

Madame Maxime seemed a little surprised to have confirmation of what she had believed were outlandish reports of the number of Giants killed by the Durmstrang defenders. This made her very ready to believe that the 'X-term-ee-nate!' curse was a very powerful weapon that they must employ at once. She would not hear of waiting until morning, and insisted that three teams of professors be trained immediately. Frankly, I think she was more than a little panicked by Harry's dire warning that the Death Eaters would not give up until they had secured the Joan ring, and that another attack must be viewed as imminent. Having sounded the alarm, Harry had no choice but to conduct training on the spot.

Harry did insist that since an attack would likely come during the night, it was unwise to actually cast the curse during training. He did however conduct elaborate pronunciation training with three teams of professors and exhaustively reviewed Viktor's lists of cautions. All three teams were thoroughly drilled in establishing rapport between the team members and in maintaining the proper focus upon the selected target point. I was convinced that Harry had started a couple of steps ahead in the rapport department and that all three of his teams were also teams in real life, or as McGonagall would say, very special friends. Both we and the faculty were assigned watch schedules throughout the night, although Madame Maxime promised that the perimeter defenses had been strengthened to give an alarm if anyone tried to breach them. With all that in hand, it was approaching midnight when we returned to our dorm rooms to sleep.

It soon became apparent that Harry and I were not about to have a good night's sleep, as the simmering discontent between Ron and Hermione broke into open sniping.

"I can't believe how Krum just openly insulted me," Ron complained, "and how you let him fawn all over you."

"Harry said it was very important to get Viktor to cooperate," replied Hermione, without a trace of guilt. "I simply treated him politely as an old friend."

"He treated me like a little kid and was making future plans with you," a sullen Ron griped. "I know we had to make nice with him, but he really laid it on thick."

"Well, you and Harry must seem a little young to Viktor," Hermione replied in a tone that said she was just being logically sensible. "He is five years older than us. He was a seventh year, when we were fourth years, and he had missed two years along the way because of Quidditch and training with his national team."

"You don't have to take his side," Ron said angrily. "Whether we needed his help or not, it's just rude to try to make off with a guy's girlfriend, especially while he's standing right there - and you just let him get on with it."

"Well," replied Hermione, now sounding as if she might have been partly to blame, "besides needing his help, I admit that I felt sorry for him and wanted to cheer him up a little. As I heard about Wizard life in Germany, I realized how hard it must be for Viktor. He was two years older than the other boys, interested in learning, and didn't like the selection of ill-educated girls, who were six years younger than him. He's had to take on a lot of responsibility as headmaster of Durmstrang, and that has made him more mature and his matrimonial choices even less appealing. To rub salt in the wound, he's the only single professor at the school. It's not an environment like Hogwarts, where a married professor would be rare. I just want Viktor to be happy."

"Well, I don't want Viktor to be happy with you," sneered Ron. "He seems determined to pick up where he left off at the Triwizard Ball."

"There was a time," paused Hermione, "when I would have been very happy to make you jealous by throwing Viktor in your face. But I'm more mature now, and I realize that was stupid, and as unfair to Viktor as it was to you and me. I'm your girlfriend and I intend to remain your girlfriend. You're the only Wizard I've been interested in since we met on the Hogwarts Express as first years."

"You didn't even like me then, you were interested in Harry."

"I've always liked Harry as a friend and we got along really well because I didn't treat him as a superhero celebrity and he always treated me seriously. I knew as soon as I met you on the train, that neither of you were ready for a girlfriend. Girls are just more mature than boys."

"Now, you're siding with Viktor and calling me immature".

"Not now. I'm very happy with the way you've grown up. I really don't want to fight. Can you just believe me when I say I'm not at all interested in Viktor in the way that you think I am, and that I've never been interested in Viktor? I do respect what he has accomplished, however, and realize it was not easy for him to share his secret with us."

"Well, okay then."

Hermione stepped a little closer and Ron grabbed her in a big hug. After about a minute of snogging, Hermione broke her head free and turning to us asked, "Can we have the room, guys."

"Um, sure," mumbled Harry. "Ginny and I will go out to the balcony and take the first watch."

I followed Harry's lead in grabbing some blankets on the way out.

"They say make up snogging is the best," I ventured.

"I think we do fine without the fighting," Harry replied, and with that we began our own snogging session, interspersed with guard duty. I rationalized that it kept us awake and alert and that we always had our wands at the ready. The chateau remained quiet throughout our shift. Although we had a very pleasant snog and went a bit farther than we had in the past, I was sure that Ron and Hermione had far outstripped us. I would not have objected to a bit more, and suggested as much to Harry. Harry thought he concluded the discussion by saying he was very happy to be with me and that I should realize that "you are a year younger than Hermione, Ginny."

I think I successfully controlled the tone of my voice as I explained to Harry that "I'm quite mature for my age, and you really shouldn't think that you have to protect me."

Harry looked puzzled and responded, "I'm Harry Potter, I was born with a need to protect everyone. Besides, I wouldn't want to upset your mother. She's been like a mother to me to and I really respect her, and want to keep things between all of us in a good place."

"I don't think Mom is as worried as you think she is," I replied, "she's also very happy for Ron and Hermione."

"Well, that's another thing," Harry admitted, "Ron is my best friend and he's just been bounced around a bit by Viktor. I think it will do him good to be a little ahead of you, for once, at least for a little while."

"Well, alright," I conceded, "but you do realize the chaperonage is going to be more intense when we get back to Hogwarts. Mom cares that McGonagall cares, at least about what happens at Hogwarts."

"We'll be away from Hogwarts a lot this summer," Harry promised.

When Ron and Hermione relieved us, they appeared to have fully made up and couldn't fully keep their hands off each other. I said good night to them, and Harry and I went back to the room.

"Do you think they really spent the two whole hours snogging, and more?" I asked, when we were alone in the dorm room.

"I think they stayed away from us until shift change, so that we would have no way of guessing how long they were snogging, or whatever," Harry replied.

We were asleep minutes after crawling into our respective bunks.

I was jolted awake, with a cry of "The Giants are attacking," as Gabrielle ran down the corridor screaming and pounding on the doors. Harry and I hit the floor simultaneously, wands in our hands. As I raced toward the door, Harry yelled after me, "Stop! We should take our brooms, and Ron's and Hermione's, also." I ducked back to grab my broom and Hermione's, while Harry scooped up the other two. We raced out the door and flattened ourselves on the floor of the balcony, next to Ron and Hermione. I saw three of the Beauxbatons students lying farther along the balcony. All three were firing curses down into the entry hall. I looked down to see two hooded Wizards, with two Giants behind them and another Giant farther back, clamoring up the front stairs. "Douse the lamps", Harry shouted, but before any of the Beauxbatons could move back to the safety of the far wall to comply with Harry's order, Ron yelled "I've got it." The lamps did indeed go out and I saw that he was holding the deluminator.

Harry whispered to one of the Beauxbatons "throw a ball of light into the entry way, behind the Giants." She was a little off in her aim, but the entrance to the east corridor lit up, giving us a clear view of the attackers.

"You and Hermione take the Giant on the left, Ginny and I have the one on the right," Harry directed.

{[excitement/confidence] Okay, let's aim right for the middle of his chest. Wands together and one, two, three, 'X-term-ee-NATE!' I think we got him. Separate our wands and fire at the wizards}

I was temporarily stunned to see how well our counterattack had worked. Two Giants had collapsed on the floor, and the third stumbled over their bodies and fell awkwardly to the stone floor. The two Wizard attackers also appeared surprised, as they stopped advancing and started backpedalling around the fallen Giants, trying to maintain a stream of protective and attack spells in front of them. The four of us added our curses to those of the Beauxbatons students, and one of the attacking Wizards was felled by the barrage. I noticed that Harry was limiting himself to "Protego!" The remaining attacker ducked behind the shoulder of a fallen Giant. This at least forced him to stop cursing us. Harry had done super against the Giant with a BIG offensive curse. Was my boyfriend specist? I resolved not to raise the subject with Hermione.

I could clearly hear Ron using some 'Avada Kedavras'. This didn't surprise me. I was shocked when I heard Hermione use one. I didn't know if it was a case of solidarity with Ron or if she also was angry. I hadn't been able to escalate my own curses beyond 'petrificus totalis'. I realized that Hermione likely viewed killing an attacking Wizard as no more serious than killing an attacking Giant, so perhaps wounleashing the secret weapon had opened up some new aggressive channel in her head.

Since Hermione was lying not more than three feet from me, I allowed myself a surprise 'what?' the next time she and Ron cut loose with an 'Avada'.

"What yourself," Hermione answered me. "These are adult Wizards deliberately trying to kill children to steal trinkets. They know full well what they are doing. We all had no problem killing the Giants. I doubt they even understand what this is all about, beyond pride and loyalty to their leader. If defending the students is worth killing a Giant, it's worth killing a bad Wizard."

This was convincing enough that I unleashed a couple "Avada Kedavras' of my own.

As Harry yelled, "Take care of the third Giant, when it gets back up," I realized that George and Luna had arrived and were setting up on our flank opposite the Beauxbatons.

"The secret weapon worked," I told Luna. "We dropped two of the Giants, but the third just tripped and fell. He should be getting up soon. As in right now," I shouted as the third Giant rose to his knee and started to stand, lifting a thick tree limb as a club. Another Wizard was entering the hall and this gave our sheltering Wizard the courage to pop up his head and start firing away at us again.

"We've got the Giant," George volunteered, "the rest of you just concentrate on the Wizards, so they can't curse us while we're dealing with the Giant."

Harry and I, and all the others, were dueling the two hooded Wizards, when a bolt of lightning shot out from our left and the third Giant collapsed, just as it was climbing to its feet. That was enough for the two Wizards and they backed out of the entry hall. One of them never made it as far as the stairs. I think Ron or Hermione got him.

"Where are the other secret weapon teams?" asked Harry. "I'd suggest going down into the entry hall and defending the door, but I don't want to do that unless we have a team to deal with any Giants we might encounter."

"Most of the others are defending the windows," Luna replied, "but I'll run back in and see if they can spare a team."

As we waited, two of the attackers stuck their arms in the door and fired curses at us. The Beauxbatons girls fired back, but Harry told us to hold our fire. "We need to recharge our energy. We're not going to do any damage firing at them like this."

We watched for what seemed like several minutes of desultory skirmishing between the Beauxbatons and the two Wizards at the door, before Luna returned with Neville and Mom. Harry explained the tactical situation to them, and Mom agreed it made sense to just hold our position.

"Don't waste your energy," Harry yelled to the Beauxbatons, who were going a little nuts at every hint of movement near the door. Having their attention, he said more softly, "don't fire unless they come far enough in to expose their whole bodies. And keep down so they can't get a good shot at you. Don't worry if a Giant appears, Molly and Neville can deal with it, like we did with the other three."

"The others are holding the windows," Mom reported to Harry. "They've killed at least one Giant and one Wizard. One of the Beauxbatons faculty teams you just trained dealt with the Giant. I told Bill and Fleur to hold their secret weapon as a strategic reserve, in case there is a breach at one of the windows. I think we've lost one student so far. Also, one of the trained faculty teams was patrolling the grounds when the attack began and got cut off from the castle. They killed a Giant, but were being overrun by Wizards. We saw them use the secret curse a second time, within five minutes. They and three of the attacking Wizards all collapsed."

About fifteen minutes passed, with not much happening apart from the occasional largely un-aimed curse fired as a wand and a hand appeared for a second in the front entry port. Just as Harry was suggesting, "I think perhaps we should go down to the entry hall and retake the doorway," the two Wizards burst full body into the entry hall and, firing curses up at our balcony, made a dive for protection behind the fallen Giants. Most of us at had been ready with our wands trained at the entrance and unleashed a very accurate stream of curses. One of the Wizards was cut down before he reached safety. As the second Wizard rose to fire back, Ron shouted "Sectumsempra," and the other Wizard fell back, with blood starting to pool from his chest.

"Okay," Harry commanded, "let's move downstairs. Ginny and I will go first, Molly and Neville follow and be prepared to fire on a Giant. The rest of you, keep your wands trained on the front entrance."

{[excited/a little scared] As we go down the stairs, keep your back to the wall. Our first concern is anyone hiding toward the rear of the entry hall, then as we get to the bottom, we'll have to watch for attackers in the first level corridors. We'll use the Giants for cover. Take your broom.}

As we inched down the stairs, there did not appear to be any movement from inside the entry hall. Also, no attackers had appeared in the entry doorway. We slowly made our way to the base of the stairs and Harry peered around them toward the back of the hall.

{[unsure] I think the hall is clear. I'm most concerned with attackers lurking in the damaged wing, but we have to beware of the west hallway as well. On three, we'll swoop up on our brooms and quickly land against the back wall. One, two, three.}

Harry took off and I followed. Our Quidditch skill allowed us to steer the brooms, while having full freedom of our wand hand. We soared up to balcony height and quickly dropped to the floor at the rear of the hall. Harry shouted "protégo" as we started to soar and I was prepared to unleash the Avada Kedavra, but the need never arose. We landed safely and immediately dropped to lie flat on the floor, wands pointed outward.

There seemed to be motion in the back corner farthest from the base of the stairs, perhaps only twenty feet from where we lay. {[adrenalized] I know you sense him too. Keep your wand ready. I'm going to lob some light behind him. First I'll throw this piece of rubble toward the doorway to distract him. Light in one, two, three.}

I heard the piece of stone skitter along the floor, just as Harry reached two. At three, a blob of light appeared briefly on the end of his wand and then was rapidly hurled away from us. I had momentarily closed my eyes, to avoid losing my dark vision, but opened them as the ball of light exploded against the far wall. It revealed a masked Death Eater, rapidly turning to face us. "Protego!" screamed Harry.

I shouted "SectumSempra" just as a foreign curse was hurled at us. Harry's 'protego' might have saved us, but I think our enemy simply aimed high. I did not. My curse struck our assailant square in the groin and he lost his wand as he was thrown off balance back against the wall. "I hit him!" I told Harry.

"I should have used a much stronger curse," Harry sheepishly replied. I tried to assure him that his 'protego' was most helpful and may have saved us, while actually wishing that he had used the 'avada kedavra' or at least 'expelliarmus'. By closing my eyes briefly, I ensured better aim, but Harry had been able to fire almost a second before I had. Harry could have dropped our attacker before he managed to curse us. No harm done, but I had more work to do with Harry.

The light had faded to dark, so we carefully scooted along on our bellies to check the condition of our attacker. I wanted to be certain that he couldn't reclaim his wand. My fingers touched a wand and then dipped into a sticky pool of liquid. This guy wasn't going to cause us any more trouble.

{[guilty and ashamed] I'm very sorry that I left it to you to take the necessary action. I never wanted you to have to kill anyone. If you weren't quite so quick, he might have killed us. I'm really sorry. I don't know what's the matter with me.}

"Don't worry about it," I reassured Harry. "I think we should move forward and hide behind the fallen Giants."

{[still guilty] Okay. I was expecting my ball of light to draw some return fire from the doorway. We've crawled this far without being attacked. I think you're right. Let's wait another half minute and then crawl forward.}

Still no challenge, as we began inching forward toward the nearest of the fallen Giants. It seemed like several slow but steady minutes until we safely reached our goal. As we took up position, Mom and Neville ran from the stairway to the rear of the hall, and thankfully made it safely, without challenge. Within a few minutes, they had crept up to join us. That's where we were all deployed, when the invaders unleashed their next assault. It began with two Wizards swooping in on brooms. We fired from below as those on the balcony fired down. The attackers were soon behind us and homing in toward an empty area of the balcony. They weren't expecting fire from their rear, and one of them collapsed and fell off his broom before making it to the balcony. The other began dueling with the Beauxbatons from a position far enough onto the balcony, that we could not see him. I was covering the balcony with my wand, in case we had an attack from the rear, when Harry shouted "Neville, there's a Giant coming in the door!"

Harry was firing curses at the Giant and I turned around and joined in on his attack. The Giant was confused to find an attack coming from ground level, but quickly identified the source and raised his club to pound us. His club was at its zenith when a lightning bolt struck him in the chest and he toppled over backward. As we breathed a sigh of relief, and were beginning the exhale, there was a loud thud behind us. We dove for the ground. I pointed my wand and ordered "lumos", revealing that the second Death Eater had been killed and thrown over the balcony. Harry reached out toward me.

{[flustered] I was about to suggest we move in pairs to cover each of the first floor corridors, but that falling attacker startled me as much as anything that's happened today. I need a couple minutes to just sit here and pull my nerves back together}. Harry turned around to guard the entrance, once again.

Nothing was stirring in front of us and several others were coming slowly down the stairs to join us. Several reached the bottom of the stairs and raced across to join us, behind the sheltering giants. I looked right and saw my brother Ron, Hermione, and actually two of the Beauxbatons girls. "Hi," I said, giving Ron's arm a welcoming and I hoped reassuring squeeze.

"It's important that we keep people up on the balcony," declared Harry, forcefully enough that Ron seemed to take it as a rebuke for joining us in the entry hall. I didn't want a fight within our ranks, but was encouraged that Harry had regained enough confidence to be back in command.

"No problem, mate. Four more Beauxbatons girls came from the dorm wing to join us, so Luna, George, and six Beauxbatons have us covered from the high ground."

"That's good, then," Harry replied, "I think we need to check out the corridors on this level. Here's the plan. Ginny and I will run to the wall on the left to the point just before the east corridor. We'll cover the entrance to the east corridor with our wands. You and Hermione run to the same point adjacent to the start of the west corridor, and cover that corridor as you move. The gang on the balcony should have the front door covered, but Neville and Molly and the two Beauxbatons can cover the entry doorway from here. Once we're in position at the mouth of the corridors, Molly and Neville can join Ginny and me and the two Beauxbatons can join you. We'll check the west corridor first.

"We'll be focusing on and entering the near side of the corridor. Ron and Hermione can train their wands on the outside wall of our east corridor, and have a curse ready for anything that shows up there. I'll do a 'protego' spell and Ginny will do a Lumos, then Neville will check down the corridor. I'll signal you with a lit wand if we're clear. If we are clear on our side, after I give you the wave with my lit wand, I want the four of you to check out the west corridor. The four of us will have set up in the cleared east corridor, so we'll have a clean shot down into your corridor. If you get into trouble, drop to the ground or dive back out of the corridor and we'll fire at them on top of you. Everybody got that? …. Good! Now, one last thing, I'm not at all sure we've had anywhere near enough time to recharge, so use the secret weapon only in extremis. Ginny and I are off in three, one, two, three!

We both cast protégo charms and darted off to our left, running as low to the ground as possible. It was a scary move, because someone outside might have a clean shot at us. We made the wall safely and saw Ron and Hermione sprint for the opposite wall. All remained quiet as Mom and Neville ran over to us. As the Beauxbatons sprinted to join Ron and Hermione, a curse streaked in from outside the main entrance, but struck the wall behind them. Fortunately, it was still dark enough in the entry hall to give us protection.

{[revved up] I'll do a protégo spell on three, you throw a ball of light down the corridor on two}. "Neville, you count to two and move when you see a ball of light fly down the corridor".

{[determined] One, two, three 'protego!', and Neville is off. You could do a protégo on his other side.}

"Protego," I shouted, just in time to shield Neville from a couple of curses flying across from the west wing. Harry reached out and dragged Neville back. We all retreated away from the opening as the light faded.

"The corridor looked clear," Neville reported. "There are low piles of rubble about six feet down the corridor, but I didn't see anything behind them."

"That's good," Harry thanked him. "We'll wait a minute and then all produce a 'protego' spell that we'll run to that pile of rubble. We can shelter behind it. For now, let's just catch our wind."

All was quiet from the west corridor, and no more curses had arrived via the main entrance. Finally, Harry commanded, "we go on three. One, two, three, run, protego."

Our movement was detected, and a couple curses zoomed our way, but either our spells blocked them or they simply missed us. Huddled behind the rubble, Harry reminded us "keep your wands focused down the west corridor, when I give the 'east all clear' wave. We should check to make sure there isn't anything behind us, by the way. I'll take a peak if Neville lobs a light to the end of the corridor. Ginny and Molly can cover me from down low. Ginny toward the east, Molly toward the west. Do it, Neville!"

The far end of the corridor was suddenly illuminated and Harry snuck a peak. Unfortunately he had neglected to consider that the light also backlit us, and a curse from the west corridor just barely missed him as he popped his head up. Mom had been wise enough to do a 'protego' spell in back of Harry, which may have saved him. She returned the fire as Harry ducked back down.

"It seems to be clear," Harry announced. "Now for the west corridor. We should get a decent look when they throw the ball of light. We can't fire at the inner edge of the corridor, because we may hit one of our own. Aim at the outside wall, but not far enough down the corridor to come near the center line at the entrance. Just that fire should make the bad guys take cover. Okay, I'm about to give the east all clear signal."

Harry lit his wand tip and waved it over his head, earning a return curse. Fortunately, only his wand and two fingers were exposed and no damage was done. A few seconds later, a ball of light was flicked down the west corridor and caromed off the wall about a dozen feet down that corridor. We could see two Death Eaters crouched behind a desk that they had dragged into the corridor. They were about twenty feet down the corridor. Their heads, one arm, and a wand were visible. They were close enough to the outside wall that we chanced shots at the outer edge of the desk. The Beauxbatons both rolled into the corridor, flat on their stomachs on the ground. When one of the Death Eaters raised a head and wand, they fired away, and we also shot curses at him, over the girls' heads. I noted that Harry's curse had graduated to "Petrificus totalis." One of us had hit him and he fell to the floor beside the desk. The remaining Death Eater broke into a crouched run deeper into the corridor and out of the range of the light.

We were considering what to do next, when Madame Maxime called down from the balcony, "All of the attackers have been driven back from the windows. They're huddled several hundred yards down the lane toward the entry gate. I've got girls manning the windows, but I've moved our last unused special curse team to the balcony. And now we CHARGE!"

A swarm of Beauxbatons Witches and one Wizard flew down the stairs on brooms and charged into the west corridor. There were flashes of green light. The situation was too confusing for us to help in any way. I didn't even have time to think, before Madame Maxime was calling out that the corridor was clear. The corridor was now completely dark and Madame Maxime was calling out instructions in French. I assumed that the Witches were checking each of the classrooms. We just stayed in place and waited. A few minutes later, I saw the lighted tip of a waving wand being waved at us. A Beauxbatons girl skittered across the floor to our position.

"Madame says no Death Eaters left," she assured us.

We were still individually celebrating this victory, as Madame Maxime joined us. "Can you spare a couple bodies to reinforce the east wing?" Harry asked her. "I think we should fly out and use the secret curse on the collection of attackers down the lane. I'm hoping we've had enough time to rebuild our strength, and you have one team left."

"That makes sense," Madame Maxime replied. "I want to see if my colleagues on the front lawn are still alive, before the attackers finish them off, but first, here is some chocolate to recharge the four of you. We killed the last attacker, by the way." She handed chocolate to Harry, Ron, Hermione, and me, since we were the ones with the brooms. Other than the defenders at the entryway and in the east wing, she directed everyone else to the windows of the west wing. We went to the second floor with the remaining Beauxbatons secret curse team, and they fetched brooms from within the dormitory. We went to windows on the backside of the chateau. The defender at one of the windows said no attackers were in evidence, so we prepared our assault.

"We'll fly out these windows and the Beauxbatons will fly around the chateau clockwise, while we go counterclockwise. With the building to shield us, we'll fly to the trees on either side of the chateau. That leaves us in the open for about a hundred yards, but we'll have time to build up enough speed that we can cover that distance quickly. Land as fast as you can, set up and fire immediately. Ginny and I will do the same, with Ron and Hermione in reserve. Everyone pick a window. Luna will make a bang in the corridor and we all take off immediately when we hear it. Okay?"

I opened my window and balanced on the sill, wand in hand. The loud bang almost made me drop my wand, but I pulled up the tip of my broom and was off. Harry was ahead of me and Ron and Hermione were in back of us. Harry led us in a steep upward climb, just barely above the high point of the chateau, and then dove to fly as fast as he could around the corner of the chateau at ground level, racing for the trees. Not wanting to lag behind, the three of us ended flying abreast as we joined him. Just as we landed behind the trees, one curse zipped past where we had been. Harry and I crept forward to the first row of trees. Just as we knelt behind a little hillock and touched our wand tips, a lightning bolt lanced out from the Beauxbatons attackers. Several of the Death Eaters collapsed on the spot, and I thought we would be able to hold our fire. I was beginning to relax, when Harry spied a Giant coming around a tree and heading directly for us, only twenty feet away. He roared and raised what looked like almost half a good-sized tree, as he strode toward us.

{[very composed] Giant ahead. Take aim at his chest. Relax, we've got him. Okay, one, two, three 'X-term-ee-NATE'.}

I suddenly felt very weak and sensed my body collapsing in a faint. I may have lost consciousness, I guess I did, because the next thing I knew, I was lying on a bed and Mom was looking down at me, with concern written on her face. She had a hand on my shoulder, so I reached up and squeezed it. It seemed like a monumental undertaking. A few minutes later, I was able to whisper "how's Harry?"

"Harry's awake and resting in the next bed," Mom replied. "A little touch of the Rod of Asclepius brought you back to us. The two of you were reckless, but at least you're alive and all of the attackers have fled or are dead. It's been as much carnage as the Battle of Hogwarts. There are seven dead Giants and twenty-seven dead Wizards among the attackers and one dead student, you'll remember Cecille, Professor Aumont, and two dead Paris Ministry soldiers among the defenders. All except Cecille were killed guarding the grounds, before all of us were roused. I hate to think what would have happened to all of us, without the Durmstrang curse. It must have come as a great shock to our attackers, and the lone Giant and handful of Death Eaters who escaped must be wondering why their attack was so completely repulsed. They must have had an excellent view of your last use of the curse on the school grounds, although they wouldn't know what it was. Since it's a weapon not deployed in the first defense of Beauxbatons and since Durmstrang dispatched so many Giants in that battle, they're going to assume Durmstrang has shared its secret. Viktor needs to be warned.

"By the way, we are perfectly safe here, at present. The Paris Ministry has arrived in force, with twenty of their equivalent to our aurors. They are very angry at the repeated attacks on Beauxbatons and at the loss of two of their own. They are restoring our perimeter defenses yet again, and installing a strengthened main door. They're even clearing out the wreckage of the east wing, to make the chateau more defensible. The Minister arrived an hour ago and is very eager to interview you, as soon as you are strong enough. Everyone has kept the secret of our new curse, but the Minister senses that something very odd has occurred."

A straw was pressed to my lips, and I drank several swallows of sweet liquid. Mom pushed a small piece of chocolate into my mouth, and I slowly chewed/swallowed that as well, washing it down with another sip of liquid. I'm told that I then napped for another couple hours. When I awoke, Harry was seated beside my bed, holding my hand.

{[relief] It is so good to see you recovered. I never should have asked you to participate in that second 'X-term-ee-nate' curse. It would have been my fault if you died. They weren't able to save one of the professors who collapsed after launching a second curse. I think I may have been too eager to redeem myself for not using anything stronger than 'protego' against the attacker under the balcony. I apologize. I don't know what I would have done had anything happened to you. I've put you in positions where you had to kill somebody to protect me and to again risk your life in an unnecessarily heroic attack. I really thought the half hour had passed. I guess time really slows down during a battle.[really desperate plea for forgiveness].}

"I told you before that you shouldn't think that I needed a lot of protection. I knew the risk and helped you voluntarily. I was worried what had happened to you."

{[relief] Well, at least we both came through okay. Hermione and Ron didn't have to attack, so they are fine. I'm feeling stronger and stronger. Hopefully you'll feel better soon.}

"I really don't feel that bad," I said. "I think I'll just lie here for a few minutes until I'm fully awake, and then I want some food. What time is it?"

{It's a little before noon. We've been in an out of it for over five hours. Six for you.}

When I sat up and asked for food, Harry and I were joined by Ron and Hermione, Mom, Bill, Fleur, George, Luna, Neville, and Madame Maxime, who brought Harry and me trays of coffee with cream, sweet apple crepes with vanilla-flavored thick cream, and a very rich chocolate mousse. Apparently, Madame Maxime was a strong believer in the restorative powers of sugar and chocolate. She confirmed this, stating, "I don't want to give you much protein until you are a little stronger. I'm holding a meeting in our eating area at five, and I hope you will be feeling strong enough to join us. I leave you to your friends, and you all have our thanks for everything that you all did to defend our school."

As she left, Hermione asked, "are you two really okay? It was frightening how long you were out of it."

"I think we'll be just fine by tomorrow," I replied.

"Who were the attackers?" Harry asked.

"All German and Eastern European followers of the Grindelwald cult, except for one old friend from Britain, your old buddy Yaxley," Hermione answered. "They haven't identified three bodies, but Yaxley is the only one they've identified who was from Britain."

"Yaxley was captured in the Battle of Hogwarts," I blurted out.

"Indeed he was," Mom replied, "which, not too seem to blood thirsty, is a solid argument for killing them, when you've got the chance. When last seen, he was in the custody of Ministry aurors. I have no idea what happened to him. I've been writing a report to your father and another to Professor McGonagall. A lot has happened in the past day that they desperately need to learn about. I was going to send your owl back with the messages, but then decided they can only be delivered in person. An owl might be intercepted. There will inevitably be questions and they may have guidance or instructions for you. There's no other choice. I'm leaving after dinner tonight. My first stop will be a quick drop in to alert Viktor, and then it's off to see Professor McGonagall and your Dad. I'll travel with Neville, for safety. You were planning on going to Fleur's parents' house from here. I'll join you there within a day or so. You'll do fine without me. No more questions. Now that we all know you're fine, I think we should leave and let the two of you rest up before dinner."

"Hermione and I'll stay to guard them," Ron objected, "but we'll let them nap."

"If you insist," Mom said, "but I'm definitely shooing the others away."

A minute later, the four of us found ourselves sharing the infirmary with Professor Rousseau, who still appeared to be quite groggy, and Madame Ferme, who was tending to her. They were far enough away that I thought we could talk in complete privacy, if we wished.

"I wish I knew what has been going on at the Ministry," an exasperated Harry said, in a weaker than normal voice. "Your dad is there, and Dumbledore and Professor McGonagall have always trusted Shacklebolt. I just don't know. Perhaps I shouldn't have given Voldemort's wand to Shacklebolt."

"We don't even know where Yaxley was," Hermione began what I expected would be a thorough analysis. "If he was sent to Azkaban, then that would mean that the dementors are still siding with the Death Eaters. That wouldn't surprise me at all. If he was being jailed somewhere within the Ministry of Magic, that doesn't mean Shacklebolt is bad. He hasn't had time to root out all of the covert Voldemort supporters in the Ministry. The new people that Voldemort put in would be obvious, but he must have had other sympathizers in the Ministry who fed him information over the years. They would have gotten in deeper with him after he seized the Ministry. Look at Umbridge, she was always a rotten authoritarian throwback kind of person, but I was really surprised she was an actual Death Eater. Of course, your dad and Shacklebolt suspected her from the start.

"I sometimes think you get paranoid and invent reasons not to trust people, Harry, but this makes your suspicions of Bill, the auror, more plausible. Clearly some of the people Shacklebolt trusts at the Ministry are secret Death Eaters. Who else, but a group of aurors, would be guarding the captured Death Eaters who weren't sent to Azkaban. If Bill, or some of the other aurors, are bad, the Minister could be assassinated by his own guard." She stopped for a dozen long seconds in the midst of this long analysis and looked at Harry, "why do you think it so important that Voldemort's wand, and for that matter Draco's, might have fallen into bad hands."

"It has to do with how desperate the Death Eaters seem to be to get magical artifacts from Beauxbatons that started me thinking. I was an accidental horcrux for Voldemort. Maybe there is another. As I was waking on this cot, I had a dreamy flashback to my duel with Voldemort beside his father's grave. It was probably prompted by Viktor Krum's speculation that I could have used the 'X-term-ee-nate' curse to defeat him then and there. As I thought of that duel, I recalled that when we were fighting each other's curses, our wands resonated and ghosts of the people Voldemort killed emerged from his wand as temporary ghosts. What if the same thing could be done with the Draco wand that I used to kill Voldemort? When the temporary Voldemort ghost materialized from the wand, it might be possible to stabilize it, in order to recreate Voldemort, either as a ghost like Peeves, or in the largely disembodied form of a parasite as we first encountered him. The Death Eaters would then need some way to stabilize the temporary ghost. That may even be the sort of magic that Flamel would have studied and written about. Maybe that's why Beauxbatons only recently became of such interest. The artifacts have been there for centuries, but they've only had Flamel's notes for a short time. In any case, once you had regenerated a parasite-Voldemort, it takes us back to the need for the Sorcerer's Stone. The Death Eaters may have thought they could acquire the knowledge to find or make another stone in Flamel's writings."

"I thought it was probably something like that," Hermione continued, "and that leads to a more horrible thought that I have been having about the Beauxbatons attack. Perhaps the Death Eaters are more interested in the Rod of Asclepius than they are in the Joan ring. Perhaps they think they can use the rod to stabilize the temporary ghost Voldemort. Maybe they've deluded themselves that they can even create some sort of corporeal Voldemort. With so much of his essence destroyed with the horcruxes, I doubt it would be possible to make anything more than the merest shadow of his former power. But… even the merest shadow of Voldemort would be the ultimate symbol for his followers to organize around."

I felt obliged to share my own insight. "If there is merit to those thoughts, and I'm afraid there is, then the Resurrection Stone is also very important. We need to find it and deal with it, before it falls into the wrong hands. I also think we need to research the Hogwarts archives and find what treasures may be lurking there, when we return home."

"Remember, Shacklebolt told us that the Ministry also has a curator, who is in charge of all sorts of magical artifacts, many of which she, yes I researched enough to learn the curator is a Witch, doesn't understand. Somebody is going to have to check those. We should meet with the curator. She may either be in danger or be a danger. I hadn't considered this before, but a curator could be a very dangerous and powerful person at this time."

Hermione seemed to really approve of this insight and was beaming at Ron. She even gave him a quick kiss.

"And I most certainly must have another discussion with the resident Goblin," Hermione declared as she saw me watching her, "and the house Elves. We need to learn more about their version of Wizarding history. What we've studied …, well what I've studied, is just from the Wizard perspective and is probably very biased. The Muggles have a saying that History is written by the victors, and that's very true. A lot of editing occurs, and embarrassing things are left out. Sometimes extremely significant things are left out. All of this action has certainly been energizing, but I'll be happy to return to the library."

I was very gratified when Harry said, "I agree, Ginny, we'll have to scour the forest when we return to Hogwarts. I was foolish to think the stone would lie lost forever on the grounds of a school crawling with curious young Wizards. I wonder if we could borrow Flamel's magical force detector to help us find it."

"Yes," Hermione replied, almost as an afterthought and distraction from her own train of thought, "we will certainly search the forest. If we can borrow the detector, I want to give the Hogwarts library, the headmaster's office, and then the whole school, a going over with the detector. I also want to, don't be upset Ron, but I really think I should have a look at Viktor's Durmstrang archives. I won't do it soon; I have to study German first, after all, although some of the records could be in Latin, so…."

"Don't worry," Ron replied confidently, "you thoroughly convinced me last night that if you ever had feelings for Viktor, that you're over them. All of this has convinced me that we'd be better off depending more on knowledge and less on derring-do. I'm going to be a very dedicated student next term. Voldemort was right about one thing - we have been very lucky to have survived this long. Luck can only carry you so far, and we've used most of ours up. Not the liquid kind – I know we've still got that with us. I just want to be wiser and a bit less ready to impetuously throw myself off a cliff than I have been in the past. You'd be wise to do the same, Harry. Not to insult you, mate, but you've been luckier than any of us."

"No insult," Harry replied. "Lying on this cot this morning, I've had opportunity to reflect on how lucky I've been. Voldemort was also right that a lot of people gave me a lot of help along the way. I was practically the Death Eater-coached contestant in the Triwizard Tournament. I thought I had a destiny that made me bullet proof. Now I know I lived because Voldemort forbade his troops from harming me. My destiny, if I ever had one, was aimed at Voldemort. Now I'm just an ordinary Wizard, with no more special protection. So, I'm with you on the studying bit. I intend to make up for what I missed out on the past seven years."

I hated to cut off everyone's philosophical musings, but I was starting to feel tired again. "One more quick nap guys, and wake us for dinner?"


	40. Chapter 40

**Chapter Forty – Dinner With Another Minister**

Hermione awakened us precisely five minutes before we were scheduled to go downstairs to dinner. As we washed our faces and tidied our hair, she spent the five minutes trying to pep up our mental alertness and prepare us for what she assumed would be some sharp questioning from the French Wizarding Minister.

"Molly was up here ten minutes ago," Hermione continued, "and she said nobody has mentioned the secret weapon. I don't think we should mention it either, and not just because we made a solemn promise to Viktor. If we think there are moles in our own Ministry, the French Ministry is likely in equally bad shape. We have a temporary advantage over the Death Eaters, but it could turn into a disadvantage. Our weapon would be more effective for attacking a castle than for defending it. Don't be insulted, but I think our best story is that Durmstrang is a really secure militarized castle that trains great warriors, and we had the very daring and always luckily charmed Harry Potter to help us here. If pressed, we could confess to taking a swig of our liquid luck yesterday morning. I admit it's not a great story, but it's the best I could think of."

"That's fine," Harry mumbled drowsily, "at least it's simple enough for me to remember, and I did take just a little sip of the Felix. So did Ginny and Ron. Ron and you were spatting at the time and he was afraid you wouldn't approve, or we would have offered you some."

"Ah, that may have been a mistake," Ron answered, as Hermione shot him a look. I don't know whether Hermione was now upset, or just wanted to kick Harry's thinking up a level, but she really challenged him.

"I had thought, Harry, that you respected all magical creatures. I know that you almost love Hagrid and you know that he is half Giant. So, I was just wondering why you found it so much easier to kill a Giant, than to use a serious curse on a Wizard. Do you think that we are that very much more precious than Giants? They're practically extinct after today's battle."

I could tell that Harry felt uncomfortable and considered answering for him, but after a pregnant silence he confessed, "I don't really know. Viktor's curse is totally new, so it seems different than what I learned at Hogwarts, and what I had available in my battles with Voldemort. Then, once we decided to use it, I knew that if I hung back even a little bit, Ginny could be killed by the rebounding curse. When we were getting ready to leave Durmstrang, Viktor whispered to me 'I know your problem with killing curse. You must be strong. I not a natural killer, but I remind myself what happen to my students if I allow myself to be defeated. Think of little girls.'

"Perhaps that made a difference. I don't hate Giants and am not uncomfortable around them when they're calm, but I've seen how much damage they can do. I'm sorry. I'm just not upset that I killed the Giants. I am upset that I didn't kill the Wizard who attacked us."

"Okay, Harry, I think you're ready," Hermione replied, "and just so you know, I was not unserious on the topic of how easily we've all killed Giants."

Harry cleaned his glasses, and then led the four of us to dinner.

Multiple tables had been set up in the dining area - three long tables and a smaller one a little removed from the others. One of the long tables was completely filled by Ministry aurors. Students and faculty and most of our traveling companions were mixed and matched between the other two long tables. It became clear that we were to dine with the Minister, a very tall, skinny old Wizard (who turned out to be his aide and whose name was never even given to us), Madame Maxime, and Mom. As we sat down to dinner, we quickly learned that although the school was adhering to its tradition of self-service at the long tables, we had 'blond Audrey' as a waitress to serve us. She very politely and carefully set very large bowls of bouillabaisse in front of each of us. The Minister attacked as Harry was immersed in awkwardly fighting a mussel out of its shell.

"I can tell by the scar on your forehead that you're the famous Harry Potter, here to continue your legendary feats in defense of our fair school. I'm Marcel LeDoux, the Minister of Magic for the French, Belgian, and French-speaking Swiss Canton Wizards. I want to personally thank you for your part in driving off the attackers last night."

"It was nothing," Harry replied. "We were guests of Madame Maxime, so we were defending ourselves as much as we were protecting Beauxbatons."

"You are surprisingly modest, not at all what I was led to expect. Perhaps you can help me. I'm trying to determine what happened last night, and I don't think the Beauxbatons staff and students have been entirely forthright with me. Knowing your reputation for honesty, I'm sure you'll do the right thing and tell me exactly what happened."

"I'll certainly tell you what I can," Harry honestly replied. "Things were very confused last night, and the fight occurred mainly in the dark. We doused all the lamps at the start of the battle so we wouldn't be backlit by them. What would you like to know?"

"What surprised me most about last night's success is that you managed to kill six Giants. The staff wasn't able to accomplish that during the first attack on Beauxbatons. How do you explain this newfound success?"

"Seven Giants, and I don't think it's all that newfound," Harry replied, sliding too close to the heart of the matter for my taste. "The Beauxbatons did kill a Giant during the first attack. We killed several during the attack on Hogwarts. That gave us some practice and we learned a few things from our experience. The thing with Giants is that in addition to being really big, they have really thick skin, so it's just about impossible to stop one of them with a single curse. We learned at Hogwarts that if you have lots of Wizards firing curses at close to the same time, that it is not difficult to kill a Giant. In last night's battle, we had more than one Wizard cursing each Giant, almost simultaneously. You see, the Giants have serious weaknesses. They're not very smart, and they're clumsy, and they can't fly or wield curses like a Wizard can. About all they can do is bash and trample things. Last night, we got lucky: the Giants tried to come into the entry hall through the main door. We were defending against a couple Wizards after being rousted from our bunks on the second floor corridor. Well, anyway the important thing is we had over a dozen Wizards fighting from the balcony."

"Yes Harry, I've heard that luck tends to travel with you. It's said that you still travel under your mother's protection."

"No," Harry responded, huffily, "my mother sacrificed herself to save me from Voldemort, but I've been on my own since then."

"Sorry, lad, it was not my intention to offend by implying that you're in the habit of hiding behind your mother."

"No offense taken, Sir, I was less than a year old at the time, so I don't suppose anyone would expect me to do anything except have my mother protect me. I avenged her death, however. No shame at all to be protected by her - my mother loved me very much and she was a very talented Witch."

"I thought your mother was a Muggle," the Minister responded, engaging his mouth before his brain.

"No, Muggle-born, not a Muggle. She was the top Witch in her Hogwarts class, just like Hermione here, who is also Muggle-born."

"Ah yes, that is a distinction," the Minister replied, taking a glance toward Hermione, who was seated on his right, and visibly leaning closer to Mom, who was on his left. "But, I've distracted you from your tale. Please continue."

"Where was I?" Harry wondered. "Oh yes, the Giants had to enter the hall one at a time and it was too dark for them to see us. They got very confused. One even fell over another Giant that we killed and we were able to kill him before he got fully back to his feet. We had a great defensive position and good tactics. Over half of the seven Giants were killed in that one spot. So, it's not as unusual as you think. In fact, we learned that the Durmstrang staff and students killed even more Giants than we did last night."

"Yeesss, that fact also did not escape my attention. It appears Durmstrang was inordinately successful in fighting off the Giants. To what do you ascribe their remarkable luck?"

"Not luck at all," Harry quickly replied and the Minister perked up instantly and leaned closer to Harry, as if they were old conspirators. "Have you ever been to Durmstrang, Sir?"

"No, I can't say that I've ever had that pleasure. Relations among the separate Ministries aren't what they should be."

"I thought not, Sir, because," Harry continued, drawing him in even closer, "if you had, you'd know their secret yourself. Durmstrang isn't at all like Beauxbatons, or even Hogwarts. It is a militarized castle, with a moat, and a drawbridge, and no windows big enough for even a man to enter until you get really high up the walls. And those walls, they're very thick and smoothly vertical, designed not to be climbed. They've got sharpened stone spearheads and sharpened stakes at the bottom of the moat, and it's close to twenty feet across. Of course the Giants crossed the moat, anyway, it didn't even come up to their shoulders, and the stakes weren't much more than an ouchie to them. But, Durmstrang had a secret weapon that the attackers didn't know about."

"Yes, yes, my boy."

"Viktor had a tank of Muggle gasoline. When the Giants and attackers were crossing the moat, and the Giants had thrown tree trunks up against the castle, Victor poured his secret supply of gasoline into the moat and lit it afire. The Giants were horribly burned and unable to pursue any sort of organized attack. Meanwhile, all of the castle's residents, and believe me, Sir, they are all trained up to be as good or better fighters than our own aurors, concentrated their fire of curses from protected slit windows against the Giants below. They picked them off one by one."

"I was given to believe that there was more to it than that…"

"That was quite enough, Minister. The gasoline was a total surprise and the Giants were blinded by the fire. They bashed up against the castle, but the Durmstrang walls were so thick that we saw almost no damage to the walls. In fact, only one turret was damaged, and that damage was caused by Wizards fighting on the roof, as much as by Giants."

"I know we've just met," the Minister said unctuously, "but I want you to trust me. I'll be completely honest with you and let you in on something you may not know that I know. There were three of my aurors on the Beauxbatons grounds last night …"

"Yes, I know, Sir, and I'm very sorry that two of them were killed", Harry replied.

"Yes, yes, it was a dreadful thing, but that's not the point," the Minister hurried on. "One of the aurors was hidden in a copse during the battle and had a good view of the final fight on the grounds involving yourself, and Miss Weasley, I believe." I nodded politely, in acknowledgement, curious to hear Harry's response.

"Yes, we knew there was a third auror out there, but he could have been a lot more useful to us if he wasn't cowering in a copse."

"Well, yes, his performance wasn't all that I would have hoped, but, getting back to the POINT, he reported seeing a lightning strike from Miss Weasley and yourself. More powerful than any curse he had ever witnessed. How do you explain that? What sort of curse did the two of you use? Remember, Harry, you have a responsibility here to do the right thing."

"Believe me, Sir, I am determined to do the right thing," Harry replied. "I can only imagine that the auror's perception was a bit warped by his fear. A grown Wizard, an auror, cowering in a copse doesn't make the best witness, does he? But I think I can explain what he saw. Miss Weasley and I shot our curses virtually simultaneously. So, your man was seeing two curses, not one. The attackers were also firing at us at the same time, so your man could actually have witnessed three almost-simultaneous curses. In fact, Ginny and I were stunned at just about the same time as we attacked the Giant. But I don't see what the big deal is: we killed a Giant. Yes, we used a curse that we shouldn't have. We were instructed that the 'Avada Kedavra' is illegal, but our attackers were using illegal curses and we felt we could use an unapproved curse to defend ourselves. Surely you're not planning to prosecute us for using the 'Avada Kedavra' under those circumstances."

"No, um, of course not, you did the right thing. The school had to be protected. It's not even as though you used the curse on another Wizard. Do you back up this story, Miss Weasley?"

"Yes, Minister", I replied. "Everything Harry told you is true. And I apologize for using an unapproved curse. In Britain, other Wizards have been excused for using the 'Avada Kedavra', or even the 'Cruciatus' curse, when fighting the Death Eaters. And Harry is correct, we were both knocked unconscious at about the same time as we cursed the Giant. It's the sort of thing that could happen if one of the Death Eaters' killing curses flew right between us. We were crouched very close together at the time. I am very sorry, I've never killed anybody before last night. It was a harrowing experience. I still feel bad. And I am sorry that I used the Avada Kedavra."

"I assure you that my daughter is a very truthful girl," Mom added to the verbal stew. "Harry too. Not a girl, I mean, just very honest."

"I can believe that is the truth, but I can't accept that it's the WHOLE TRUTH," the Minister declared. "Is it the whole truth son?"

"No, no it isn't", Harry replied, in an extremely sheepish, guilty tone.

"I thought as much!" exulted the Minister. "I can tell that you're an honest lad who wants to tell the whole truth. Go ahead, you'll feel much better, after."

"Well," Harry replied, "we probably shouldn't have done it, but after brewing up some Felix Felicitus for Professor McGonagall, we borrowed some of her old supply that had ripened, thinking we might need it on this journey, and as you know, it turns out we did. Need it, that is. Also, you probably know that in addition to my own wand, I have the famous Elder Wand, and it produces far more powerful killing curses than ordinary wands."

"But, I had been told that you had buried that wand," the Minister blurted out.

"I did, Sir," Harry replied, "but I'm able to retrieve it, if I need it. It is a very magical wand, and I AM its rightful owner."

"I see. That explains a lot. It's just that my contacts in the British Ministry told me the Elder Wand had been stolen."

"I believe you'll find that your contacts were mistaken," replied Harry, with supreme confidence. "It would be a physical impossibility for the Elder Wand to be both stolen and in my hands at Beauxbatons."

"But is even the Elder Wand powerful enough to produce the bolt of magical energy that my man reported?"

"Let me put it this way, Sir. The only Wizards to control the Elder Wand before I became its owner were named Peverell, Grindelwald, and Dumbledore. Voldemort used it briefly, but never truly owned it. I think the history of those men speaks for itself. And remember, your man was seeing nearly simultaneous curses."

"Yes, I've heard of the exploits of Grindelwald. If you were wielding his wand, that might certainly explain what my man saw."

"Very good, Sir, now if I can just finish this excellent stew."

"Of course, my boy, you've certainly earned it".

By then, our stew was cold, and the rest of the dinner was spent in idle chit chat. I only regretted that I had not been able to properly enjoy the stew. When I complained of this to Harry, later that evening, he simply asked me why I hadn't magically rewarmed the stew, as he had done with his. An excellent crème Brule and an espresso coffee and an orange cognac assuaged my suffering and ended the meal on a very pleasant note.

As we left the table to converse with the Beauxbatons students, I spotted the Minister and his aide whispering to each other in a corner of the room. I noticed that they were remarkably close to Bill and Fleur. As the Minister and his aide moved back toward the center of the room to be polite to Madame Maxime, whom they had pointedly ignored throughout most of dinner, I sidled over to Bill.

"What were those two whispering about?"

"The Minister asked the tall guy 'were they telling the truth?' and the tall guy said 'everything they said was true'," Bill replied, adding as an afterthought, "I guess he didn't think we had any French speakers in our party."

"Since we were all speaking English at dinner, the idiot didn't even remember that I AM French," added Fleur, indignantly."

"That makes sense," I replied. "During dinner, it seemed as if Harry knew that they had some sort of lie detector. In answer to all of the Minister's questions Harry gave totally truthful, yet totally misleading answers. He even got the Minister flustered enough that he let on that someone told him that Harry buried the Elder Wand. Apparently, the Minister was told that somebody stole the wand. Very interesting, don't you think? He might just as well have rolled up his sleeve and shown us the mark on his arm."

The Minister and his aide seemed to being saying their goodbyes to Madame Maxime and the Beauxbatons staff. I rejoined Harry and we walked over to Madame Maxime, just as the Minister turned to leave. "Well, we really must get back to the Ministry. We learned so much, need time to review it all. I'm sure you'll all be safe tonight. Goodbye again."

After they had left the room, Harry remarked to Madame Maxime conspiratorially, "I wouldn't trust all of those Ministry aurors, if I were you. Their boss seems to be the closest thing to a Death Eater. How long has he been the Minister?"

"A little less than half a year. He was elevated from Deputy Minister when his predecessor met with an accident. Fell from a broom at a thousand feet while flying from his home to the Ministry, if I remember correctly. Unfortunate man, he liked the traditional modes of travel as an occasional break from his regimented days."

"I'd keep your relics well hidden if I were you," Harry continued.

"Already dealt with. Unfortunately, it will hinder the girls' research, but that can't be helped. The Ministry is bound to tire of having half its Aurors at Beauxbatons. They will call them back to Paris, within the week, I'd bet you. Most of them are on our side, but I'll agree with you that the Minister is bound to have salted the barrel with a few bad apples. Those will likely be the newer ones. I'll ask a friend at the Ministry to do some background checks for me, but I'm fairly sure the Minister will withdraw the good guys and leave us with the bad apples. They'll be snooping about the chateau during the next few days, I'm sure."

"One last thing, a very big favor," Harry began meekly. "We have a project at Hogwarts. I foolishly lost an old British Wizarding relic, and I thought Flamel's magical force detector would help us find it a lot faster".

"Of course, Harry, you saved our lives. Stop by when you're ready to return to Hogwarts and we'll be happy to lend you the device, and Flamel's notes about it. Then I fear that the rumors are true… you were foolish enough to lose the Resurrection Stone. That is very dangerous. The Peverell hallows have drawn treasure seekers for centuries. Oh… Professor McGonagall may have mentioned something in a note to me. You're among friends, no need to be so cagey."

"Thank you very much, and good night. This has been an incredibly long day. We'll see you at breakfast."

I didn't have to be closer than half a foot to Harry to feel how totally stunned he was by Madame Maxime's final comments. Harry was tongue-tied all the way to the stairs. He finally commented "McGonagall really does have a big mouth, doesn't she?"

We waved goodbye to the others and headed up to our room. On the way, we detected motion in the still dark rear corner of the balcony and dove for the floor, brandishing our wands. By the time my stomach had thudded to a stop on the hard floor, I realized that I was watching Luna and George snogging in the corner. They looked up, disturbed by the noise.

"Oy!" George yelled. "show a little respect!"

"Get a room," Harry replied, and we were off to get a room. Or so I thought. We were asleep before any snogging was accomplished, and awoke feeling very cramped for having shared a narrow bunk bed.

The plan was to breakfast quickly, grab our things, and have Fleur apparate us to her parents' home. Gabrielle was to come with us. Breakfast was interrupted by the arrival of Harry's still nameless owl, who bore a message from McGonagall. This caused a commotion among the girls, as owls were apparently not a common form of messaging at Beauxbatons. I should have guessed that when Madame Maxime had to get up from the table and struggle to get the window open, as the owl noisily battered its beak and wings against the pane. Harry read the note and passed it around. I secretly got the message before the others, but pretended to read, when Harry passed it to me.

Harry,

I'm not surprised to have your confirmation of the rumored attacks on Beauxbatons and Durmstrang. I am surprised to hear that Dolohov was in the fight. Should have killed him when we had the chance. The Minister reports that your burial has not been disturbed. We are all safe and well. I look forward to Durmstrang report. The Ministry aurors tried to revive Umbridge but the attempt caused her death.

M

"Well, just wait until she gets Mom's report", I said. "Since you can't leave your owl here, anyway, you might as well send your own report, Harry." I don't think he agreed with me, and he grumbled a bit as he wrote it, but he finished it after I went off with the others to grab our things. He carried the owl to the lawn, and I carried our stuff. "Hedwig never got nearly this much exercise," Harry said, tossing the owl into the air. The bird departed and then, so did we.


	41. Chapter 41

**Chapter Forty-One – A House In The Park**

We apparated onto the lawn of the Delacour house. As I collected my bearings and turned toward the house itself, I realized that 'house' was a serious misnomer. It was a mansion about half the size of Malfoy Manor. Its setting was most strange. It appeared to sit on an estate of the size and manicured conditions of a very fine public horticultural park, yet its immediate surroundings were very cramped and barren. We had landed on a narrow strip of lawn, perhaps ten feet wide, adjacent to the rear of the house and ending in a narrow patio. The left and right sides of the house were crammed up against tall piles of very large boulders. Although there was a vast park to our rear, as we faced the house, it was accessed by a three foot wide path that ran for ten feet between immense bramble bushes, with boulders thrown in for good measure. The other side of the house seemed to be smack up against a shear forty foot stone cliff, with a few straggly trees on top. I'll jump ahead and explain that it turned out that they had equipped their mansion with a Fidelis Charm so that it was hidden in what appeared to be a wild brambly and rocky portion of a large and very well-maintained public park. As Fleur's father would later observe, "it beats having to mow the grass and weed the flower beds." It was a perfect example of a Wizard family hiding in plain sight, although few pull it off with such luxury or panache.

We made the exceedingly short walk up to the patio, where Fleur's parents came out to greet us. I recognized them from the wedding at our own, oh so much smaller, house. They seemed much more relaxed and less formidable than they had appeared to me at the wedding. There were hugs and kisses all around. The Delacours insisted on being called Apolline and Philippe. I had never known Monsieur Delacours' personal name, and had the silly thought that he seemed too short and plump to be a Philippe. The hugs and kisses and a brief welcome in English were quickly replaced by a loud and animated discussion in French, between Fleur, Gabrielle and their parents.

After several full minutes had passed, Monsieur Delacour broke away from the discussion and directed his comment, in English, to the rest of us, "I apologize for leaving you standing out here on the patio, with your bags, but we've just learned of last night's attack and of the deaths of Cecille and Professor Aumont. Professor Aumont was Gabrielle's favorite professor. She taught magical history and was the class advisor to the eleven year olds. I'm so shocked. We thought of Beauxbatons as a place of safety. Now Gabrielle has been endangered by two invasions in less than a week. And, Fleur was involved in the fighting. We were just sitting here at home, anticipating your visit, with no thought that our girls were in mortal peril. But, please, come into the house and bring your things." Monsieur Delacour opened the patio door and we all passed into a brightly sunlit sitting room.

"Gabrielle tells me that Harry and Ginny were all but killed last night."

"It really wasn't quite that dramatic. We were knocked unconscious for several hours. I took a foolish risk," Harry replied.

"I also understand," continued Mr. Delacour, motioning us into seats, "that for your troubles, you were interrogated and Hermione was insulted by our Minister."

"That is completely true," I piped in, lest Harry be tempted to minimize the Minister's behavior. "He recoiled from Hermione, when Harry mentioned she was Muggle-born, as if he were a Death Eater. He even insulted Harry's mother, calling her a Muggle, and saying Harry hid behind her. I heard him talking to his aide, and his aide used some kind of lie detector device on Harry while the Minister was questioning him. He droned on so long that my stew got cold, before I could eat it. Even Hermione couldn't get a word in, and you know how much she talks."

"Do I really? He was too focused on Harry, and then he was too insulting to me, for me to say anything. But that wasn't what I was after. I added to my collection," Hermione replied, pulling two small vials from her robes, "I got hair samples from both the Minister and his aide. I just levitated them off the collars of their robes. With the polyjuice we brought along, I thought they might come in handy. I think the Minister is a Death Eater, so I added him to my collection of his Death Eater friends."

"That's even a bit worse than Fleur reports," concluded Monsieur Delacour, "although I understand he committed the cardinal sin of not realizing that our Fleur was French. You would think he would recognize the French champion to the last Triwizard Tournament."

"I do speak English very well, after living with Bill," Fleur admitted, "and I said almost nothing at dinner. Really, nobody except the Minister and Harry had a chance to say much of anything. The Minister was even rude to Madame Maxime."

"I don't believe he approves of a half-Giant as headmistress," Monsieur Delacour replied. "I doubt he is a Death Eater, but I have no doubt that his sympathies lie in that direction. He is not at all popular in the Wizarding community. Most of the Wizards that I know view him as more German than French. He seems to be a great fan of Grindelwald, although his Gallic pride prevents too close an alliance with the German Gridelwalds. I can't imagine he'd be that happy with Voldemort, since Voldemort killed Grindelwald. The death of the elected Minister and Monsieur LeDoux's rise to power have always seemed suspicious. Besides, he is all arrogance, pomp, and emotion, with almost no brains. Unfortunately he is too proud to realize how stupid he is. He fancies himself an independent force, who is destined to prevail over all the other factions of nasties."

"Most of the Wizards who attacked Beauxbatons both times were the Grindelwald lot, but there was a Death Eater Briton killed in each attack," Harry interjected. "I don't know how that relates to LeDoux's politics. He did let slip that I had buried Dumbledore's wand. In fact he outright stated that it had been stolen after I buried it. It is not common knowledge that I buried the wand. In fact, no more than a dozen Wizards know of this. As of two days ago, when Professor McGonagall sent me a return owl, I know that it had not been stolen. That news must have come from Britain very recently. The Minister also seems desperate to learn what secret weapon we used to protect Beauxbatons yesterday."

"I'm sure he is. That would give him real power and possibly the support that he now lacks," stated Monsieur Delacour. "By the way, I haven't seen Molly. I was told she was coming, also."

"Mom went to warn Viktor Krum at Durmstrang that LeDoux is too interested in Durmstrang's defensive tactics. Professor Longbottom went with her."

"The same Neville Longbottom who slew the snake, I presume," mused Monsieur Delacour. "Molly is in strong hands.

"I can believe Krum would have problems. He was named headmaster because he was a school hero, and the other contenders were weak. He is the second non-German headmaster in at least two centuries and we all know how the last headmaster worked out. Also, Viktor hates Grindelwald, as I'm sure you observed at the wedding. Yes… I don't miss much. I suppose LeDoux could have something to do with the attacks on the three schools, but I doubt it. Bad as he is, I don't think he'd murder children and you said that his aurors fought against the attackers at Beauxbatons. Like Voldemort, he viewed all three headmasters as illegitimate, and feels strongly that the schools are too independent of the Ministries. Not that there is any Ministry to speak of in Germany and the East. Durmstrang is the closest thing to a unifying institution that Wizards in that part of Europe possess. If LeDoux gained control of Durmstrang, he would all but control the German Ministry. If Durmstrang has a secret weapon, Viktor Krum is a Wizard to be reckoned with."

"Viktor swore us to secrecy, but did permit limited sharing with the other schools, in order to fend off the attacks. That saved Beauxbatons," Hermione said, adding "Beauxbatons will keep the secret and has greatly frustrated Minister LeDoux. He presently has twenty aurors at the school, more to intimidate than to protect. Madame Maxime expects them to conduct a thorough search of the school. She is quite indignant."

"As well she should be. But you know," mused Monsieur Delacour, "what surprises and concerns me is that the attackers at both Beauxbatons and Durmstrang have links to Britain. That can hardly be a coincidence."

"We'll know more about that when Mom gets here," I replied, "and when Harry gets his return owl,"

"I have friends at the Ministry, people who are not pleased with LeDoux. I can casually inquire if there seems to be something unusual going on there. I think if LeDoux was involved in the attacks on the schools, that it would be hard to completely hide it. Somebody had to coordinate between the Voldemort and Grindelwald factions and with the Giants. The French Wizarding community is smaller than yours, so it's harder to keep a secret. I'll go into Paris tomorrow and make some inquiries. I think it wisest that I go alone. I've got a local friend who knows his way around some of the more private corners of the Paris Wizarding community. I'll check with him this afternoon. I've been absent for a while and he's more in touch. Don't worry, I won't mention that you're visiting us."

Apolline, who had been chatting with Bill and Fleur, joined the conversation. "I'm terribly sorry Ginny. I just heard that your brother Fred was killed in the Hogwarts battle." We took turns giving a detailed recounting of the battles and intrigues that had been our life for the past week. When we finished, Phillipe excused himself to go visit his retired colleague in the nearest village, "who may well have information that will be of service to you." We bid him good bye and saw him walk onto the patio, across the lawn, into the narrow space between the bramble bushes, and vanish.

"Yes, an awful lot has happened very fast. We haven't even had time to grieve properly, and Dad is away at the Ministry almost all the time, since he's the new Deputy Minister of Magic. We've been in two major battles and a smaller attack on Hogwarts in the past week and observed the aftermath of two other major battles. So much has happened, so fast. I've gotten back together with Harry, and that's moved pretty fast, too. It's like Mom has always described the time when she and Dad got married. They were always in danger and thought they could die at any time. She said the whole world felt different, they were always under stress, everything seemed more intense and life moved at a different speed. Now, I understand what she meant."

"So it will do you good to just relax here and enjoy yourself, at least until Molly gets here. You don't need to go anywhere right away, do you?"

"We have to find Hermione's parents, and we were going to stop back at Beauxbatons before we do that, but we agreed with Mom to meet her here. She should be here tonight or tomorrow morning, so we have at least a day of inaction. Phillipe is going to do our investigating for us over the next couple days."

"My husband is still fairly well connected. He was Director of the Law Enforcement Office, what would be called the aurors in your Ministry. The new Minister said changed circumstances rendered Phillipe redundant, but he's hired almost a dozen new officers since then. Phillipe was seen as too friendly with the old Minister. Philippe has stayed away from Paris since then, in an attempt to reduce the pressure on his old colleagues, who may be suspected of conspiring with him. It is all shadows and intrigue at the Ministry these days."

"It would be great if your husband could get pictures and information on the new officers," Harry ventured. "Madame Maxime is afraid that the Minister will leave his own people at Beauxbatons when the rest of the officers are withdrawn. We'd also be interested in any Britons who have visited the Ministry since the change in administration."

"That should be possible. Philippe is still very popular with his old officers, at least those who are left. But, I'm very interested in hearing more about Molly. First she outduels that nasty lunatic Bella, then she's the new Hogwarts' Defense Against the Dark Arts Instructor, and now she's off on a mission of espionage to save Durmstrang and advise the leader of the Order of the Phoenix about her Continental enemies. I knew Molly was very gifted, but this still isn't the Molly that I knew."

"I think she wants to keep busy so she doesn't spend all her time crying over Fred," George replied. "I think we all do. Our family was always the most important thing to Mom, but with Dad accepting the Deputy Minister job and Ginny, Ron, and me staying at Hogwarts for the summer and next term, being a professor is the best way for her to be surrounded by her family. She'll be really good at mothering the first years, and in helping Neville cope with his new duties. Mom will be groping her way also, and they'll both be learning from McGonagall, but McGonagall has never been exactly what you would call comforting. It'll be good for Mom and Neville to be newbies together."

The rest of the time until a late dinner was spent in family chit chat. I seized the chance to wander around the public park with Harry and Ron and Hermione. We took blankets, so that we could lie on the grass under the trees, gazing up at the glimmering green foliage and the patches of white cloud streaks against the clear blue sky. We chose separate trees so we could talk and snog with a modicum of privacy. We later observed George and Luna, heading to their own tree.

{[surprise] There go George and Luna, headed under a tree. I guess I really shouldn't be surprised, Luna seems determined to seize the moment.}

{[contented] Your lips are very soft and warm today. You could slide a little closer on the blanket. [unease bubbling up]}

{If the Minister really is bad, then Fleur's family could be in serious danger. Fleur is tied so closely to us and even Gabrielle is now linked to us. Her Dad was already fired for his links to the old regime. With the old Minister killed, Philippe is the natural person to be viewed as the leader of whatever opposition exists to LeDoux and his crew.}

"Which means that there could be Ministry people or Death Eaters watching us right now. We're not protected by the Fidelis Charm out here in the park. I've got my wand handy, and the others aren't far away, but I still feel a little exposed," I replied.

{[startled out of a soft relaxation] Isn't it terrible how our battles can even intrude upon a quiet afternoon in the park? But you're right, it isn't really safe here. It's too easy to confuse this park with the grounds of Hogwarts and let our guard down. Let's gather up the others and move back to the Delacour's lawn. [reluctant return to alert duty mode]}

I grudgingly got up and we headed over toward Ron and Hermione. I couldn't decide whether Harry or I had been responsible for ruining a nice moment. A war could accelerate romance, but it could also push it way into the mind's background. I hadn't even noticed anyone close to our part of the park – just a mother and three young children almost a thousand feet away from us. Perhaps I had imagined the danger, or perhaps two of Le Doux's men had been watching us from beneath invisibility cloaks, or even hiding in the bushes.

We spent the rest of the day chatting among the six of us, about what we thought the next Hogwarts term would hold for us. It was a good, solid, neutral subject that had nothing to do with our current problems. Hermione declared her intention to take the Advanced Magical Creatures course, thinking it would make Hagrid happy, and that she had taken so many courses already that it would be tough to find enough courses to fill what she regarded as an adequately full schedule for the year. She thought a library research course in the school archives would both further her education and advance our search for ways to improve the Wizarding community. She dithered over this approach, or taking a lighter load, so she could focus on securing rights for the Elves and a warmer peace with the Goblins, as the Shacklebolt administration presumably began an elected full term.

I was pleased when Harry said he was going to limit his Quidditch activities to cheering me on to victory. He said if McGonagall replaced Binns, he definitely wanted to brush up on Wizard history and might even help Hermione with her research. He mused that he and I could be partners in potions class. Even Ron said that knowing where he stood with Hermione, and not having Quidditch as a distraction, he was determined to do well as a student to make both Hermione and Mom proud of him. He was even determined to help Hermione in the library, "seeing as how Krum showed us that you can learn valuable stuff that gives you a real leg up in the world. If Krum can be a scholar, so can I."

It was clear that George was more focused on opening his branch store in Hogsmeade than on the prospect of a lot of coursework. He agreed that more potions coursework and perhaps transfiguration could prove useful in the invention of new products. He thought it would be cool to be Luna's potions lab partner, and said that he was even willing to share some of the finer tricks of the trade, as far as the manufacture of his and Lee's gimcracks. He told Hermione that he would do the noble thing and join her in Hagrid's class, saying it might not be the ideal subject to complete his Hogwarts studies, but it was unlikely to require much study.

All the planning made Luna a bit worried about how her father would get along without her. He was used to her company between terms and tended to get a little distracted without her direction. She asked and received permission to include her father in one of our summer adventures. "He won't print anything, until we tell him it's safe to do so. He would give us a good route for planting stories we want the opposition to see, or really, just for marshalling support from the Wizarding community. If Harry and Neville are going to help Shacklebolt in the election, they're going to need to talk to the press, anyway, and Daddy is a lot nicer to talk to than Rita Skeeter was. What? Being dead doesn't make her any less of a bitch. You'll like working with Daddy. He won't twist your words like she did, either."

"Of course, we're going back to Draco and Pansy, and that is going to be awkward. I'm not happy that Professor McGonagall is determined to make me Draco's buddy," Harry complained.

It was getting dark, as we saw Monsieur Delacour appear between the brambles and walk toward the house. That was the signal for all of us to go into the house for dinner. We were both very hungry and very eager to learn what his friend was able to tell him. We surrounded him as he walked into the sitting room, and pounded him with questions, but he indicated that we should wait until we had all sat down to dinner. I had hoped that Mom would have made a quick trip and joined us for dinner, but she had not arrived by the time food was served.

As we sat down to a nice stewed rabbit in red wine sauce, Monsieur Delacour reported on what he had learned from his friend Auguste Monet, actually a descendent of THE Monet, who still worked in the finance department of the Ministry, where he was responsible for dispensing the payments to all Ministry employees. "Auguste confirms my suspicion that LeDoux has hired eleven new officers for my old department. In addition to myself, my four squad leaders and two other officers known to be very loyal to me have been dismissed. I plan to contact them. He says the new hires in the department work by themselves, not with the more senior employees. One of the new hires was also named as the new Director and three of the new hires were made squad leaders as rookies, causing quite a lot of grumbling. The new Director worked for the department for a decade, before I had to fire him. He was serving as a liaison to the German Ministry, and they complained that he had tipped off two Grindelwald supporters that they were about to be arrested after stealing money from a Muggle bank. The new employees are reportedly keeping a very close eye on the remaining aurors whom I trusted, and monitoring their contacts. I'm going to contact my old squad leaders tomorrow. Maybe I should do what LeDoux thinks I'm doing and form an opposition."

"Our group, and I'm sure the Order of the Phoenix, would be happy to have a Continental affiliate," Harry replied.

"There was something else that Auguste mentioned. There was a big stir at the Ministry early this morning. Someone told Auguste that foreign spies had been arrested last night. They apparently were arrested at Beauxbatons. That was about all he could tell me. He isn't in a position to be on top of LeDoux's contacts with your Wizards, although he remembers talk of a couple of Britons visiting the Ministry about two weeks ago. He had no idea who they were, why they came, or whom they visited."

I had no idea what might have drawn Mom and Neville back to Beauxbatons, but Philippe's report still left a knot in my stomach. I tried to push my fears to the back of my mind as the rest of the evening was spent with the Delacours trying to teach the rest of us to sing French folk songs. It was an attempt at normality that did not totally succeed.

I was up at the crack of dawn and down to breakfast, hoping to see Mom's face at the table. Unfortunately, Gabrielle reported that nobody had arrived overnight. Philippe soon joined me at the breakfast table for croissants and jam and pieces of fresh fruit, which we ate by hand. One by one the household awoke and came down to eat. After breakfast, Philippe assured us that "Molly is bound to show up before dinner," and set off to learn what he could in Paris. Given the reports of captured spies, he thought it best to avoid the Ministry and discretely contact a few old friends. He promised to return well before dinner. The rest of the morning was spent by me trying to remain active, while watching the clock and waiting for Mom. After a quick lunch, we gathered in the sitting room to share our fears and prepare a plan of action.

"I'm sure Mom and Neville must be the 'spies' that the Ministry captured," Ron declared, "but, I don't know what they'd be doing at Beauxbatons."

"It's possible that's just a false lead from the Ministry, to disguise their capture at Durmstrang," replied Fleur. "LeDoux could hardly admit that his officers were fighting at Durmstrang, let alone that they had kidnapped Wizards from Germany."

"I think we need to pay a visit to Durmstrang and see whether or not Molly and Neville left there in good condition," Harry proposed, adding "I think we should travel in force and land in separate fighting groups to catch any of LeDoux's men by surprise."

"We can do better than that," schemed Hermione. "We can use the polyjuice to have the lead group appear to be LeDoux and his aide. That should cause enough confusion for the second wave to capture any ambushers. Bill is about the right size to be the aide and Ron can be LeDoux. How many do we need for the second wave?"

"I don't want to leave Madame Delacour alone at the house," said Harry, "and I wouldn't want to alarm Monsieur Delacour by having him come home to an empty house. I say Ginny, Hermione, George, and I can be the second wave, while Fleur, Gabrielle, and Luna stay here. If we're not back in an hour, they can send someone back to Hogwarts for help."

It took about an hour of preparation, since Hermione had to prepare the polyjuice potion and then we had to allow time for it to work its transformation upon Bill and Ron. In the meantime, we alerted Madame Delacour to the plan and refined our attack strategy. Bill and Ron would apparate to the front gate. The rest of us would give them about three minutes and then apparate in pairs to points about twenty yards up and down the lane and about ten feet in the air. We agreed to use "petrificus totalis" as our attack curse, since we didn't want to kill anybody if we could avoid it and also because we needed prisoners to question. As a final hedge Harry suggested, "let's break out the liquid luck to give ourselves an edge." Hermione shared around two vials of luck, which were totally consumed, leaving just one in reserve.

Hermione lectured Bill and Ron on what we had observed about how the aide and Minister walked, the mannerisms that we observed at dinner, and how they spoke. She made Ron practice a few phrases over and over until the moment they disapparated, the most practiced phrase being one that translated into "get over here, now!" I don't know whether this practice helped or hurt, as both my brothers seemed a little cowed as they prepared to disapparate. And then, in an instant, they were gone. Harry divided our two groups, having us pace off the twenty yards from the point that Bill and Ron had occupied. Then Harry gave the command, "on three… one, two, three". I took another dizzying ride, keeping my wand ready to cover the spot where I expected my brothers to be standing.

In a suddenly changed light, I found myself off the ground and saw Bill and Ron surrounded by and talking to three of LeDoux's officers. I fired curses as fast as I could as I allowed myself to slowly drift to the ground. I'm not at all sure that my curses had any effect at all, but the 'battle' was very short. The officers turned to defend their Minister, and as they were about to fire a, presumably deadly, curse my way, Ron and Bill calmly cursed them in the back. One by one, the three of them fell to the ground. Harry and I walked up and began binding them with magical ties from our wands, as Hermione walked up to the gate to ring the bell.

"Very well done, everybody," Harry congratulated. "That worked even smoother than we diagrammed it. You seem to have totally fooled our ambushers, Ron."

"Well, they came quick enough when I called them, and then I mostly let Bill do the talking. The only other thing I said was Hermione's phase for 'do as he says'. I think they were beginning to doubt us when you arrived. I don't think we could have fooled them much longer."

"You did well enough," I said, "that they were prepared to defend you, as we arrived."

Pavel appeared at the gate and, recognizing Hermione as 'Krum's friend', opened the gate, admitted us, and then set off to find Viktor. I felt safer being on the magically protected side of the gate.

"After all the fighting we've done, we finally have some prisoners that we can question," Harry exulted. "Now perhaps we'll learn what happened to Molly and Neville and what is going on between our Death Eaters and LeDoux. I'd question them here, but we told Madame Delacour to send for help if we weren't back within an hour."

"We'll just explain what happened to Viktor, see if he knows what's happened to Mom, and then head back," suggested Bill.

"Right," Harry concurred.

I was about to chime in when Viktor showed up, giving Hermione a hug and asking who our prisoners were. "First things first," I interjected, "have you seen Mom and Neville?"

Viktor answered that the bell had rung two nights ago, but that when they went to investigate, nobody was present. They had checked the surrounding area and found nobody. Harry then pointed to Hermione and asked her to tell Krum everything that had happened since we left Durmstrang. Viktor was very impressed by her tale of our battle at Beauxbatons with the Grindelwald gang and their Giants. He expressed an appropriate degree of worry at the disappearance of Molly and Neville, and apologized that they had been kidnapped from the very gate of his school. He said the French Ministry officers that we had captured would be missed, but that his staff would prepare an appropriate reception for whomever LeDoux sent to investigate.

Harry said, "now that you're up to date, we've got to get back to Fleur's parents. We promised to be gone less than an hour, and they'll be off to Hogwarts for help if we're not back straightaway with our prisoners."

"Why don't you take one of the prisoners to question and leave the other two for us to work with?" Viktor suggested. "They should provide a good source of local indignation and a bargaining chip with the French. Daring to attack a school in Germany! We'd like to help you break Molly and Neville away from LeDoux's Ministry; is there anything we can do to help?"

"Can you apparate to the Paris Ministry?" Harry asked.

"Oh, yes. It is supposed to be so very secret, but it is hidden inside the Louvre. It is accessed from the workrooms in the basement, but usually its employees simply apparate directly into a well guarded entry hall. The Louvre will be open for four more hours today. I'll meet you with some of my students in the Mona Lisa room, say two hours from now. We should have finished our interrogations by then."

Harry consulted his watch and agreed with that plan.

"Before we go," said Hermione, "I want to get samples from the prisoners. We might be able to enter the Ministry by impersonating them." She reached down and yanked a tuft of hair from each of them, depositing her trophies in separate vials, which she carefully labeled with a black pen. Satisfied, she turned to Harry and gave a nod. He grabbed the nearest of our prisoners and Ron and George helped him drag the guy back outside the fence. We linked arms, Hermione waved goodbye to Viktor, and a brief stomach heave later, we were on the Delacours' lawn. Madame Delacour and the others immediately came out of the house to greet us. "You were almost overdue," she said, "another minute or two and I was going to send Fleur off to Hogwarts."

"I thought we'd better apparate farther up onto your lawn," Harry explained. "If we tried to land between the brambles, some of us would have ended up in the park, and I was afraid that you were being watched. I started feeling very self conscious lying in the park, yesterday. Three of LeDoux's officers were waiting for us. We left two of them with Viktor, and brought this one back to question ourselves."

We started to drag him across the lawn and into the house, but Madame Delacour came over and with a flick of her wand, levitated his immobile carcass and steered him through the patio door, dumping him on the floor of the sitting room. "I realize it is satisfying to drag him around, but it isn't good for either the grass or the carpeting," she admonished us.

"Who has the Veritaserum? " Harry asked. Hermione pulled a vial out of her bag and motioned to Harry to turn the prisoner so that she could pour the potion down his throat. That accomplished, we sat back and waited a few minutes for the serum to take effect.

"Keep him bound, but undo the curse, so that he can talk," Hermione instructed. Not knowing whose curse had struck him down, we each tried to reverse the petrification spell. Our prisoner was soon straining against his bonds, but able to speak.

"It might be easier if his Minister's aide questions him, or at least somebody who speaks French," Harry suggested, so Bill stepped forward to handle the interrogation.

"What's your name, Officer?"

"Charles Petain, sir."

"How long have you been on guard at Durmstrang?"

"We relieved the others six hours ago."

"Why were you at Durmstrang?"

"Director Lestange thought more Britons would arrive in search of the two we captured. My orders were not to allow them to contact the Durmstrang staff and to capture them and bring them to the Ministry."

"Where in the Ministry are the first two prisoners?

"In the cell adjacent to the Director's office."

"Were you told why he was interested in Durmstrang and the Britons?"

"The Director said they had a secret weapon that we could use to capture Durmstrang."

"Where are you to go when your shift is over?"

"We are to apparate to the entry hall after we are relieved."

"When is that?"

"7:00 P.M., Paris time."

"That's just an hour and a half from now," said Harry. "Ask him if there's a password, when he returns to the entry hall."

"You heard him, fool, what's the password?"

"The password is 'Nagini'."

Harry whispered in Bill's ear, and then Bill turned back to the prisoner.

"Have any Britons visited the Ministry in the past two weeks?"

"The British Minister, Thicknesse, came with one of his aides. A man named Barty Crouch."

At that moment, Monsieur Delacour entered the house, registering great surprise at the sight of our bound prisoner on his sitting room floor. He was even more surprised to find LeDoux and his chief aide in his home.

"We've learned that Molly and Neville are captives at the Paris Ministry," Fleur told her father. "They were captured when they apparated to the Durmstrang gate. We went there to check on them and captured this fellow and two of his friends. Bill and Ron went in disguise to lure them into Harry's trap. We have to meet Viktor at the Louvre in a little over an hour and attack the Ministry in an hour and a half, if we are to rescue Molly and Neville. That's when this officer is supposed to return at the end of his shift. We plan to go disguised as him and his friends."


	42. Chapter 42

**Chapter Forty-Two – How Can You Go To France And Not Visit The Louvre?**

"Your prisoner was not one of my men. He must be one of the new officers hired by LeDoux. You've already found out much of what I was able to learn in Paris," her father replied. "If you're going to attack the Ministry, I should come with you, I know my way around the Ministry and some of the officers may still follow me. My friend in Paris reported that some of the old officers are very dissatisfied with the new regime. If you plan to go into the Entry Hall, you should know that it is very well guarded. There are at least several guards in the hall, including one in a protected booth, who can sound the alarm if anyone unexpected apparates into the hall. You'll have very little time to act, before twenty officers descend upon you."

"Except," Harry replied, "LeDoux is stretched very thin. He's got about twenty of his guards at Beauxbatons and we just caputured another three. Now is the time to attack, while he is so understaffed. He may not even have the normal guard strength in the Entry Hall or at the Louvre entrance".

Bill turned back to the prisoner, "How many guards in the entry hall?"

"Four."

"And in the booth?"

"Another one in the booth."

Harry whispered again to Bill, and Bill asked our prisoner "Will the Minister and I be in the building when you return?"

"No, you're standing on top of me."

"No, fool, when you left the Ministry today, did you expect the Minister or me to be in the building at the end of your shift?"

"Yes, the two of you were supposed to be in an all-day meeting, lasting at least until the end of my shift."

"Better restupefy him, while we work out our plan," said Harry. That was done and Harry led us deeper into the house, away from our prisoner's hearing.

"We can get three of us into the entry hall, masquerading as the three officers who were at Durmstrang, but that likely won't be enough to quickly overcome the five officers in the hall, even with the element of surprise," Harry mused aloud. "What if the three guards came back with two prisoners? That would give us five wands."

"Still likely not enough," lamented Monsieur Delacour. "The booth has magical protections. It will take you too long to overcome them. The alarm will already be sounded."

"What if the two prisoners unleashed our secret weapon?" I asked. "If it was powerful enough to stop a Giant in its tracks, it might well stun a Wizard inside a magically protected guard booth."

"Luna and I can do that," George volunteered.

"It sounds like it at least has a chance," Monsieur Delacour replied.

"What if the Minister and his aide returned with the officers and their prisoners?" Harry asked. That would give us two more wands.

"I'm not sure," replied Monsieur Delacour, "the Minister and his aide can apparate from their offices, so they would not have had to pass the Entry Hall to leave the building. It's unlikely, but not impossible that they would return to the Entry Hall with the prisoners."

Ron devised the final plan: George and Luna would go as the prisoners, Bill and Ron would go as the Minister and his aide. Harry, Fleur, and I would be the guards. Monsieur Delacour, who had left to bring back a few of his friends to help in our attack, would follow us into the Entry Hall, after having given us a couple minutes to dispatch the guards. Hermione, Gabrielle, Madame Delacour, and Auguste would go ahead of all of us to meet Viktor's squad in the Louvre. The friends knew the entrance from the Louvre basement workrooms. They would invade by way of that entrance five minutes after we apparated into the Entry Hall.

Monsieur Delacour returned with his local friend Auguste and two of his trusted former squad leaders. Harry described the plan for the newcomers, while Hermionie prepared and passed around the polyjuice potion. Bill and Ron took a second dose of what Hermione had mixed for them earlier. As we waited for the polyjuice to take effect, we had only fifteen minutes before Hermione and her squad were to apparate to the Louvre. Madame Delacour would have to do the apparating. "One last word," cautioned Harry, "this is the first place LeDoux will look for us, so succeed or fail in the attack, we apparate back to the gate at Hogwarts. Those who haven't apparated to Hogwarts, raise your hand… Alright, you'll have to hitch a ride with one of us."

"One last, last word," said Monsieur Delacour, "if the alarm is sounded, they may raise the magical barriers and prevent apparating from the Entry Hall. You'll have to exit through the Louvre. Once you're ten feet inside the Louvre, you'll be able to apparate. The magical protections don't extend beyond that point. And please, I'm not asking that you take any risks to your own lives, but if it is at all possible, please avoid killing anyone in the Entry Hall. I would bet that all of the guards there will be men loyal to me, with one new man to keep an eye on them."

"We'll do our best," Harry promised, "but I can't promise what effect the secret curse will have on the guard inside the protected booth. It may do nothing, it may temporarily incapacitate him, or it may kill him".

"Just do your best," Monsieur Delacour acquiesced, "LeDoux's man is almost certain to be the man in the booth, anyway, so I don't feel particularly protective of him."

"What about our prisoner?" asked Fleur. "He is now able to apparate into our house. Can we just leave him here?"

"I'll take him to Hogwarts," Harry replied. "I'll be back on the front lawn in ten minutes."

I gave Harry a hug and levitated the prisoner to the lawn for him. Harry reached down and grabbed his arm, and then they were gone."

"Look what I have," urged George, "Weasley's improved blackout bombs. Everybody take one just in case. I've only got three visors for seeing through the dark. I've got one, and I'll give the others to Hermione and Bill.

"I've got one bottle of liquid luck left," Hermione announced, as she passed it around.

Harry had not returned when it was time for Hermione's team to depart. He arrived a minute later. "Professor McGonagall is expecting us and the gate will be guarded. She's looking after our prisoner. Lie down next to Bill, Luna, and the rest of us will wrap you in really weak bonds. We'll shield you with our bodies, so that they can see your faces, but not the wands. In case you can't pick it up quickly, I'll point to the booth when we arrive. I have one minute until we leave… five, four, three, two, one."

We were floating through space and then standing on the hard floor of the Paris Ministry. I heard George being challenged by the guard and shouting "Nagini". Bill took over, conversing with the nearest guard and pointing to the guard shack on our right, as he kept up an abrupt, officious dialogue in French. Harry pointed to the booth and waved at the guard.

{[determination] If we stand close, we can keep our wands pointed at the guards. We have to wait for George and Luna. I'd feel better if you and I were doing the 'X-term-ee-NATE!' [worry] Is it not us, because everyone thinks I can't use that curse on a Wizard?}

I leaned very close as I whispered, "No, we both nearly died the second time we used that weapon. The gang likely wants to give us more rest time. Now focus on the mission!"

A bolt of lightning traveled between Harry's legs, and struck the guard shack. The guard collapsed instantly. We took that as our signal to attack the other four guards, who were caught by surprise and quickly overcome. We dragged the Paris officers up against the guard shack and bound them with really strong magical ropes. Monsieur Delacour and his two friends arrived before we finished. Harry indicated that we needed to get into the guard shack to bind the guard. Monsieur Delacourt got the shack open, the guard toppled out, still barely alive, I was glad to see, and we left him well secured, beside his comrades.

"Follow me, I'll lead you down to the prison cells," commanded Monsieur Delacour. "I think just Bill, Ron, and Claude". Claude apparently was one of his former deputies. "The rest of you stay here and guard the Entry Hall. If anything happens, apparate to Hogwarts. You have less than a minute to fight, before the magical barriers will block your escape. Francois can lead you to the Louvre exit, if that is required."

After the initial burst of excitement, we had nothing to do but wait. Our imposter guards patrolled the Entry Hall, while the rest of us hid. I sat down next to Harry, with the guard shack as our protective barrier.

{[dumbfounded/annoyed] I didn't expect to come all this way and wind up just sitting here and waiting. That definitely was not a part of my plan, or actually Ron's plan. I hope Monsieur Delacour knows what he's doing. Is he yet another person who doesn't believe I am capable of fighting Wizards anymore? It's like he just doesn't trust me at all. [anger mixed with shame]}

"I'm sure he does Harry. It's just that he knows the layout and routines of this place better than anybody."

{[unhappy/worried] I suppose you're right, but I'm still not happy about it. We'll have no way of knowing when they've rescued Molly and Neville.}

"All we can do is hold our position and wait."

And wait we did.

Harry reminded me that I should have been taking the time to acquaint myself with our surroundings and the tactical possibilities that they provided.

{[concern] The Entry Hall is really bare, compared to our Ministry. It's designed so that any invader has no place to hide. This guard shack is the only cover, and that only on one side. See, there are no statues, or fountain, and just a flimsly guard desk.}

I accepted the invitation to closely observe my surrounding. The hall was made entirely of flat stone, including the tall ceiling. There were no side corridors, just a giant marble stairs, with a right and left stairway down and another right and left stairway up. Even though we had crouched beside the guard shack, anybody advancing by any stairway had a clean shot at us. Monsieur Delacour had been correct, it would be a matter of firing off a couple of curses and then apparating to Hogwarts. Fighting our way to the stairs would be difficult.

"I'm sorry, Harry, I didn't even see whether Monsieur Delacour went up or down the stairs."

{[surprise/disappointment] He went down. We'd better check with his friend about the route to the Louvre exit, if that proves necessary.}

Harry got up and had a quick discussion with Monsieur Delacour's former deputy. He quickly returned.

{[embarrassment tinged with fear] I'm sorry. I feel I've lost control of this attack. Anyway, he says we go down the stairs on the right and out on the next level. Turn right as we leave the stairs and the Louvre exit is at the end of that corridor. We have to pass another guard desk and guard shack at that end. We would very definitely have to fight our way out. I suspect we'll need the secret weapon, so we can't waste it here. }

A minute later, two Wizards came down the stairs and approached our 'guards' at the desk. We all fired at once and they dropped in place. We were in the process of binding them, when Monsieur Delacourt came bounding up the stairs. He shouted "go!" and we went. I didn't see Mom or Neville and no idea whether they had been rescued or our mission was a complete botch up. Another stomach wrench and we were at the gates of Hogwarts. Professor McGonagall opened the gates and beckoned us in. We raced for the gates, turning as we crossed the threshold to guard the entrance. George, Fleur, and Luna quickly appeared, bringing Monsieur Delacourt's former squad leader with them. They sprinted for the gate and assumed guard positions to our right.


	43. Chapter makeup

**Chapter Forty-Three – Welcome Back to Hogwarts**

It seemed a longish wait, but Monsieur Delacour, Mom, Neville, Ron, and Bill finally arrived. We waited a very long ten minutes until Hermione, Viktor, Gabrielle, Madame Delacour, Auguste, and half a dozen of Viktor's students and professors arrived.

"We got into the Ministry from the Louvre and knocked out the guard shack, which came as a surprise, and were fighting our way in, when Monsieur Delacour waved us away," Hermione explained. "We had to fight our way out and cover our exit with one of George's bombs. There were still some people in the basement of the Louvre and they got an eyeful. Hopefully, the Paris Ministry will clean up after us. If not, Shacklebolt will not be pleased."

Suddenly, Minister LeDoux, his aide, and twenty of his officers apparated outside the gate and began firing on us.

"I thought something like this might happen," said McGonagall, and then she was gone. We returned the fire, but the numbers were too similar for either side to make quick progress. The Hogwarts magical protections and our quick application of "protégo" charms prevented us from incurring any casualties. The battle still seemed likely to degenerate into a costly stalemate, until Victor and Pavel launched the secret weapon, taking out three of the French. That lightning bolt came as a sufficient surprise to both sides that the fighting halted for a three count.

The fighting soon resumed and two of Viktors' Professors were preparing another secret weapon launch, when suddenly McGonagall and what seemed like the entire London Ministry auror corps appeared behind LeDoux's men. "Lay down your wands or die," commanded my father, whom I hadn't even noticed among the counterattacking horde.

The French had no choice but to comply, and were quickly disarmed. One of the aurors checked on the fallen French officers. Of the three felled by Viktor, two were only stunned and would survive, but the third had died. One other officer had been stunned by the Hogwarts defenders. He too would live.

"You have no right to hold us here," declared LeDoux, "give us back one wand. That will be no threat to you, and we'll apparate back home."

"No," Dad replied. "You've invaded Britain and attacked Hogwarts. You are my prisoners."

"I was lawfully pursuing escaped fugitives. Treaty permits pursuit of an escaped fugitive."

"You were pursuing my wife and another Hogwarts professor, whom you had kidnapped in Germany. That is another crime of which you are guilty."

"That may be a misunderstanding, which I was in the process of sorting out. We were chasing Wizards, led by a traitorous former security officer, who had invaded the Paris Ministry and assaulted my officers."

"You invaded Germany and attacked Durmstrang, you attacked Beauxbatons, you kidnapped my wife, and I believe you became Minister by murdering your predecessor. I fully intend to help you sort things out. Meanwhile, you will remain here, in my custody. You have many questions to answer."

"I am the French Minister. I forbid you to separate me from my officers."

"I have no intention of separating you from your officers. On the contrary, I very much want them to hear your answers. Petrificus Totalis". LeDoux slipped back to the ground, and his officers stirred threateningly, until our aurors moved closer with wands leveled at them. Dad bound LeDoux securely with magical bonds.

"Do we have any Veritaserum handy, "Dad asked Hermione.

She dug into her bag and quickly produced a vial. Dad pried open LeDoux's mouth and poured the serum down his throat. He then reversed the petrification curse and stood back to wait for the potion to loosen LeDoux's tongue.

Bill was conspiring with Ron, as they led away LeDoux's aide, taking him out of sight behind the bushes from which the unknown Death Eater had earlier attacked Harry and me. We were still waiting for the Veritaserum to take effect upon LeDoux, when Ron and LeDoux's aide returned to stand among the rest of us.

"It's okay Dad," Ron whispered to Dad, "this is Bill on the juice. I knew you'd need somebody to translate when you question LeDoux, and saw advantages to using his former aide. Bill did really well at this earlier." For the benefit of the French, Ron nearly shouted toward Dad "at least one of LeDoux's men knows when it is sensible to change sides. He's a wily bastard, I don't think you should trust him totally."

Dad was taken aback, but nodded his assent, telling LeDoux, "you thought you were way ahead of us, but your aide prefers to work for me. He'll translate for me, during your interrogation."

"Traitor!" LeDoux shouted.

"You thought I would really work for a pig like you," Bill proclaimed in his new role. "You care so little about me that you didn't even introduce me to Harry Potter. Now, you will tell us the whole truth. I know where your family will be hiding and you shouldn't expect me to treat them well. The British will make me Minister."

Dad took over, addressing his questions through Bill. "Now for my questions, are you officers of the guard close enough to hear clearly? Well, gather a little closer. Now then Monsieur LeDoux, where shall we begin? Let's begin with your ascent to Minister. Who was responsible for the death of your predecessor?"

"It wasn't me. It was Voldemort's man, Thicknesse, who killed him."

"But, you knew he was to be murdered, and did nothing to stop it. In fact you assisted Thicknesse, did you not?"

"I gave him the Minister's schedule and told him which days he flew his broom to work. I didn't know that Thicknesse would kill him."

"But, you did know that he would be removed, and that you would take over the Ministry."

"Yes."

"And you are a supporter of Voldemort and the Death Eaters?"

"No, they were an ally of convenience. I have no interest in your British politics."

"Then what faction do you belong to and support?"

"I belong to and lead my own faction. I support the principles of Grindelwald."

"And you attacked both Durmstrang and Beauxbatons".

"Yes and no. I ordered the attack on Durmstrang. I had nothing to do with the attack on Beauxbatons. I think that was Thicknesse and his friends. My officers even helped to protect Beauxbatons. My own daughter was at Beauxbatons during the first attack. She nearly died! I would never attack French children."

"Why did you attack Durmstrang?"

"It was time to reunify the French and German Ministries. With a non-German in charge of Durmstrang, the German Wizarding community would have welcomed the change."

Harry whispered again and Bill asked "But now you have your officers at Beauxbatons to intimidate them and search the school. Why is that?"

"They sided with our enemies, and they have relics and secrets that may be of value to us. If the Death Eaters are after these relics, then they may be of value to us. I have no interest in harming the Beauxbatons faculty or students. I just want to get the relics for myself and to prevent Madame Maxime from forming an alliance with your side. I'd prefer a headmistress who is not half Giant and who gives me honest answers to my questions."

"Are you the overall leader of our opposition on the Continent?"

"No. I pursue my own interests. You are of no interest to me. I worked with Thicknesse, Hayek and Gunter Gran Montine, but I do not owe allegiance or take orders from them. We trade favors to our mutual advantage. I have no interest in what happens in Britain. You know I didn't come here to capture Hogwarts, merely to capture a French Wizard who is my opponent."

"But it is I who capture you!" exclaimed Monsieur DeLaCour. "I knew you to be a fool. Such a simple trap to fall into. You should not have followed us."

"Who is Gunter Gran Montine? I've never heard of such a person."

"That is because you are a typically insular British clod. That is the nom de guerre of the leader of the Grindelwald faction. But you should recognize the name. Gunter Gran Montine and Grindelwald were the greatest Wizards the Continent has produced. Gunter was a great Germanic warrior Wizard who subdued the French and united all of Europe under his Wizard banner in 1295. The leader of the current Grindelwald faction chose the name Gunter Gran Montine to commemorate that triumph. He and I in our separate ways are going to restore the glory of the original Gunter Gran Montine."

"Who is responsible for the Giants joining the fight?"

"Voldemort and Thicknesse approached them initially, and I handled the coordination with them after that. Their leader was all too happy to join us. The fool actually thought we'd turn over a quarter of Europe to him. That is why I needed the Durmstrang weapon. It was so effective against the Giants, that it drove them out of the fight. Their leader could barely pull them together after the defeat at Durmstrang. The subsequent losses at Beauxbatons took all the fight out of them. I suspect their new leader will not be so favorably disposed to our side, or to Wizards in general. It hardly matters, the Giants will never again be a significant factor in Wizard battles. The Durmstrang weapon is too much for them. Thirty Giants killed in a week."

"Do you have spies in Durmstrang and Beauxbatons?"

"I have several of my loyal officers assigned to 'protect' Beauxbatons. There was also a student named Audrey, who fed us information from the school."

"And Durmstrang?"

"That's a tough nut to infiltrate, but we had a couple Goblins on our side. Two of the students, also, but they've been sent home for the summer."

"What are their names?"

"Hans Beidlinger and Hildegarde Markoff."

"What are you trying to accomplish with all this fighting?"

"I intend to put myself and the followers of Grindelwald in position to lead all the Wizards of Europe. We will stand up to the Muggles and force them to act as we wish. I will not allow Wizards to ever again be slaughtered in a Muggle war. In the last war, a Muggle bomb killed my wife and daughter. I vowed then, that it would never happen again. Voldemort gave us the opportunity to move forward and realize our goal."

"You have to be very deluded to think the small number of Wizards remaining in Europe could control the Muggles and all of their modern weapons, weapons far superior to those used in the last Muggle war."

"That is precisely why we acted, while we still could. In another generation, it will be impossible to confront the Muggles. We still have the power to make them very, very afraid of us. You know how the Death Eaters terrified Britain. If all Wizards worked together, we had a chance to win. For that to happen, we had to seize all the Ministries. We had Paris. With Durmstrang, we would have had Germany. Voldemort failed to do his part, or we would have succeeded."

"Why do you discriminate against Muggle-born Wizards? I'm told you positively recoiled from Miss Granger."

"You can't tell where the sympathies of the Muggle-raised lie. In the end, they would turn against the true Wizards. The Wizarding community has been in decline since the half-bloods and Muggle-born have been allowed to fill positions of responsibility. The pure-bred understand the importance of preserving the traditional Wizarding community. They are willing to kill Muggles to achieve that. I doubt the Muggle-born could do that."

"No answer required. You're a sorry perverted bastard, and I'll be happy to lock you up for a long, long time."

I led a round of applause for Dad.

"You are a fool," Bill, still looking like the aide, told LeDoux.

"And you are a traitor to your people," LeDoux fiercely spat back.

"Actually, you are just a pathetic, dumbass putz," Hermione said, looking down at LeDoux, before walking away.

I had no idea what that meant, but from Hermione's tone, it couldn't be a good thing.

"Before you take him away, I want to know what spies or allies he still has at our Ministry of Magic," Harry interposed himself between Bill and Dad.

Bill translated the question to French and relayed the answer to us: "I don't know their names. I know there are aurors, even someone in the Minister's personal guard detail. There are others farther down in the Ministry. An out-of-the-way office called 'the Office of Magical Standards' was used to house half a dozen covert supporters."

"Ask him how he knew I had buried the Elder Wand," Harry continued.

The answer came back "We had an owl from the Ministry of Magic, one of the people in the Magical Standards Office."

Dad concluded the interview by asking, "are there any enemy agents on the Deputy Minister's auror protective guard?"

The answer came back, "No, but Thickness promised that his contact in the auror service would have a friendly face added to your staff within a week."

"Where is Thicknesse, and Herr Hayek and this Gunter, for that matter?"

"Thicknesse was visiting the German Ministry, last I heard. He said he would return to 'his good refuge' in Wales. Herr Hayek moves all over Europe, but is usually in Switzerland. Nobody but Herr Hayek has ever seen Gunter. I have no idea where he might be."

"Monsieur Delacour," Dad began, "can you identify the officers who are loyal to you and to the legitimate former French regime".

"I believe I can," Monsieur Delacour replied. He went through the ranks of the invaders and pulled two-thirds of them aside.

"Take the rest into custody," Dad instructed his aurors. "Monsieur Delacour, you are welcome to take your men back to your Ministry. We'll talk later. I'll give you custody of the wands, which you may distribute when you return home. I trust you will detain the disloyal aurors at Beauxbatons."

"Of course. Beauxbatons will be perfectly safe. My daughter is returning there for the summer and several of my finest men will accompany her." Monsieur Delacour and his squad leaders and Auguste linked arms and were gone. The aurors petrified and bound the remaining French officers, roughly grabbed hold of them, and then they too were gone. Dad remained, with half a dozen of our own aurors.

"It's good to see you all alive," Professor McGonagall greeted us. "Now I think we should go to my office to do some catching up. A lot has happened to all of us. Why don't you join us, Viktor and Madame Delacour? It's been three long years since we've had representatives of the three Wizarding communities together here at Hogwarts. Professor Trelawney will be happy to entertain Gabrielle, in your absence."

McGonagall's office was very crowded. We resorted to all sitting on the floor, with our backs to the furniture and walls. Dad said he had something that he was required to say. He appeared to be feeling more than a little awkward as he began.

"The Minister asked me to relay a question to Monsieur Delacour, if I had a chance to grab his attention. I didn't get a chance to ask him before he departed, but thought his wife might handle that chore for me. Since it relates to Hogwarts, I thought it best to make the request in the headmaster's presence. The Minister would like to know if you know of a capable English-speaking teacher of French language and culture, who might be suitable for and interested in, ahem, a position on the Hogwarts staff for this coming term. The Minister feels strongly that we need to groom some young Ministry employees to foster better relations with our Continental cousins. He said he realized that there might not be need of a full-time French professor at Hogwarts - the headmaster had implied as much when the Minister first raised the topic - but that since that time the Minister had realized that this person could be employed half-time providing instruction at the Ministry. So, if you know of a likely candidate, would you please forward the name to me?"

As Madame Delacour was beginning to say "of course, I…" Professor McGonagall grabbed the floor. "I'm relieved that you are at least mildly embarrassed to deliver this message, Arthur. It's been only a few days since the Minister, in seeking my endorsement of his campaign for a full term as Minister, swore that a key plank in your platform was non-interference in the running of Hogwarts."

There was silence as Dad decided it best not to respond. Harry jumped into the void to change the topic.

"Why don't we tell you the story of what we've been up to, since we left Hogwarts," Harry suggested. The telling of the tale took over an hour, with alternating narrators as our various voices were worn down. Hermione's and Bill's telling was the first I had heard of the assault on the Paris Ministry, other than our foray into the entry hall. McGonagall listened intently to the end, without questions.

At the end, she merely said, "you are all very fortunate to have made it back alive. I would call your actions reckless, but I can't argue with the results, and I'm not sure you had many choices. It is good to know that our sister schools maintain their independence.

"We've had some excitement as well", McGonagall continued.

"Let me start with the good news. My old friend Amelia Bones has almost returned from the dead. You'll recall that we all thought she had been murdered by Voldemort. She was actually in Azkaban. Thicknesse replaced her as head of the Department of Magical Law Enforcement and used his influence to hide her in Azkaban, so that she could be tortured for information. She gave up the hiding place of poor Emmeline Vance, but no other pertinent information. She even fed some false information to the Death Eaters. She was such a learned and feisty Witch, but now she is not quite herself. She's spent the past week in St. Mungo's. I didn't even learn that she was alive until the day you left for Beauxbatons. She's made a remarkable recovery and should be able to get back to her old job, very soon. Isn't that glorious news?"

"I don't know," Harry responded. "I'm certainly happy that one less person was killed by Voldemort, but my impression was that she wasn't all that interested in justice, and not someone whom we ought to trust."

"Nonsense, you're over-personalizing this. Nothing terrible actually happened to you. You were acquitted of all charges against you. I admit that the charges were bogus, but Amelia wasn't the person pushing them. In fact, she was somewhat shunted to the side to facilitate your trial. I promise you, Amelia cares more about justice and the rights of the accused than anyone else whom I've ever met in the magical world. The new administration should consider itself extremely lucky to have her back."

Harry looked duly chastened as McGonagall continued, "let's just say that I had the chance to know Amelia at her best and unfortunately you did not. I only hope that she'll be able to return to that best."

"How could she still be alive?" Hermione asked. "I remember reading in the Prophet that her death was investigated by the aurors as well as by the police. Surely a trained Auror could identify her and be certain she wasn't alive. Surely Voldemort's people couldn't control the Muggle police. She was found dead in a locked room – clearly murdered."

"You forget," McGonagall corrected, "that Thicknesse replaced her and headed up the investigation, likely with his favorite aurors."

"If it was a locked room, couldn't she have just expired of natural causes? Ron suggested.

"You really do need to read more," Hermione chided him "when she was found, both hands and her head were missing. That doesn't sound very natural to me."

"Suppose not."

McGonagall looked annoyed as she took back control of her meeting. "On a less happy note, one of the Muggle bombs was exploded in Diagon Alley two nights ago. Nobody was hurt, but unfortunately the front of George's shop was badly damaged. It's just a relief that Cho and Lee were not injured. Also, as I wrote to you, the Minister insisted upon rushing Umbridge back to consciousness, and killed her in the process. The Ministry has disposed of her body as we did with Voldemort. In answer to the question sent by Harry's owl, the person charged with awakening her was an auror named Tom Stowe, but your friend Bill Baggins, the auror, and another auror, Bill McClaren, were right with him most of the time and took turns guarding her. They had relieved the auror originally sent by the Minister to deal with Umbridge.

"Madame Pomphrey did protest the strenuous potions used to affect her revival, but Tom was less manageable than his predecessor and just said that he had his orders. Bill confirmed that Bron had indeed ordered the potions in question. Whether the gentler approach would have ever revived her, we'll never know. Madam Pomphrey tried everything she knew to try to re-establish a spark of life, but after an hour she admitted defeat and let McClaren take the body to be burnt. Shacklebolt sent me pictures of the burning. You can look at them, but they're rather distasteful, after the first picture."

I looked and can confirm that the body was Umbridge and that the pictures were every bit as distasteful as McGonagall claimed. I was thankful that McGonagall had sent George instead of me to watch the burning of the bodies with Draco the day after the Battle of Hogwarts. I was musing on this and trying to forget the pictures, when I realized that George was very agitated.

"Wait, you're telling me my shop was bombed?" George said, after sitting in disbelief. "Didn't you think that was important enough to go first, since I'm sitting right here. Wasn't it at least worth a pause? I doubt our shop was selected at random. I'm going to apparate to the shop right away."

"I'm very sorry about your shop," Dad apologized. "I am very proud of what you accomplished. Very few Wizards manage to start a successful business. I'm sure you and Lee will have it up and running again."

"Don't go alone," Harry warned George. "Wait until after this meeting and we'll come with you. Bill being involved in the death of Umbridge is evidence that he's bent."

"Evidence, perhaps, but hardly definitive proof," judged McGonagall. "Still, I won't disagree that he bears close watching. And I apologize, George. I was just trying to get all the news quickly laid on the table. For example, there is the question raised in your narrative about Yaxley. How did he go from being the prisoner of our Ministry, to leading an attack on Beauxbatons? I put that very question to Minister Shacklebolt, and he assures me that Yaxley remains in Ministry custody. I haven't personally verified that fact. I assume you saw Yaxley's body, Harry."

"Actually, I did not. The identification of his body was reported to me, while I was recovering from overuse of the Durmstrang weapon."

"You can't say I didn't repeatedly warn you, Harry," Viktor defended himself.

"That's true. I lost track of time."

"I told you. I saw a body that Madame Maxime identified as Yaxley," Hermione interrupted Harry. "It definitely was a face that I remembered from the Battle of Hogwarts." McGonagall reached into her desk and withdrew a picture, which she passed to Hermione.

"That's the face of the body that I saw," Hermione declared. "I'm absolutely certain of it."

"Then I wonder what game the Minister is playing at," mused McGonagall.

"I was told that Yaxley was being held at Azkaban," Dad averred.

"The next big question is the issue of Dumbledore's wand," Harry stated, with his inflection indicating a question for McGonagall to answer.

"The Ministry has had the cemetery watched since you departed. Neither Margaret nor Bill the auror has gone anywhere near the grave. Margaret is checking up on the area, whenever she has the opportunity, but has never approached the graves in question. To the best of my knowledge, Bill hasn't returned to Godric's Hollow since the day you hid the wand."

"We forgot to ask LeDoux how he knew about that wand being stolen, before the aurors took him away. He's answered how he knew that I had buried it, but not how he learned that it had been subsequently stolen," Harry said. "Can we contact the Ministry and have that question put to LeDoux, before the potion wears off?"

"I'll send a floo message at once," said McGonagall, scribbling on a sheet of paper. "I'll also tell the Minister that we have had positive identification of Yaxley's dead body in France and inquire how he can still be in Ministry custody in Britain." She finished writing and threw the folded up and wax-sealed missive into the floo fireplace.

"Meanwhile, back here at Hogwarts, our new ghost has been making much less frequent appearances in Slytherin House, but Myrtle reports some additional activity in the drains. She says that two nights ago, when she was traveling through the drain from her bathroom, a cold spirit passed right through her. She said it didn't seem quite as strong as when she had previously encountered it. I'm beginning to truly believe we have an unaccounted-for new ghost, although maybe it is fading away. Draco and Pansy have even reentered Slytherin House, with only the Bloody Baron to watch over them.

"Draco has been fairly insistent the past two days about wanting to talk to his mother. I'm leaning toward allowing it, but am interested in your opinion. Actually, since it's your house, I'm asking your permission. Other than that, they've been quite well behaved, other than being a little too much all over each other for everybody's comfort. Meanwhile, the defenses at Hogwarts have been strengthened, and we once again have adequate fine tuning of the barriers. You notice I was able to create a small pocket, just on the inside of the wall, from which I was able to apparate. I was also able to extend the barrier some twenty yards beyond the far side of the wall, so that LeDoux was unable to apparate to freedom. I don't recall the Hogwarts defenses ever being in such fine shape. I don't think we need be too worried about another attack here.

"Oh, and by the way, I have your owl. I returned him to the owl tower. I didn't really know where I could reach you with a return message and didn't want to leave too many of our secrets in Beauxbatons."

"Where is Bill, the auror?" Hermione asked. "I didn't notice him among the aurors who confronted LeDoux's officers."

"There was no work for him here, with you gone and the Hogwarts defenses fully mended, so he returned to the Minister's personal guard." McGonagall replied. "I believe he's at the Minister's country home."

"We haven't heard from Hagrid, since he and Grawp went looking for the Giants. Have you heard from him?" Ron asked.

"No," replied McGonagall, "but I wouldn't expect to hear from him for several more weeks. With Hagrid engaged in such a dangerous mission, I'm very pleased that you persuaded the Minister to let him carry a wand.

"Not much news on the election. So far, Shacklebolt is unopposed, but there is rumor of a well-financed opponent, who will announce in a matter of days. Someone who will reportedly rally the Great Houses behind his banner. There's also a hint that Fudge thinks he has another run in him."

"If I were you, just listening to what you say, I would have a lot of doubts about this Shacklebolt. He seems little better than LeDoux," observed Viktor.

"He fought Voldemort for many years," McGonagall quickly defended the Minister, "although I admit he has acted a little strangely of late."

"I don't understand why your Death Eaters are so interested in causing problems in France and Germany," Viktor questioned.

"The Death Eaters and Voldemort caused a lot of problems here," McGonagall answered, "but from the accounts you've given of the Durmstrang and Beauxbatons battles, the Grindelwald supporters seem to have been more numerous than our Death Eaters. It really doesn't speak well of Britain's Wizards, that Voldemort's supporters caused so much trouble. Most Wizards remembered the earlier battles and cowered on the sidelines. The Minister of Magic denied Voldemort had returned and chummed around with what most of us regarded as known Death Eaters, Lucius Malfoy being a case in point. I guess our Ministry has been greatly corrupted by the desire to hold onto power. I guess Fudge may be the Great House candidate. The Death Eaters would not be totally uncomfortable with him back in the Ministry. He doesn't hold Death Eater views, but he'd likely give them the mass amnesty they seek. He was never one for controversy and some of the Death Eaters were close friends of his."

There was a pfft, and a return missive flew out of the floo. McGonagall adroitly snatched it out of the air, before it could reach the floor. She opened and read the message, then shook her head in disbelief.

"The return message is from the auror leader in charge of the night shift. He says the continued presence of all the prisoners at Azkaban was reconfirmed four days ago. Your friend Bill and Tom Stowe made a special inspection trip and personally viewed each prisoner. The auror leader will question the prisoner and get right back to us. It would seem there most definitely is a problem with Bill. I'm going to message back to send aurors to the Minister's country house, to protect him from our Bill." She hastily scribbled another note, sealed it, and tossed it into the floo fireplace.

"We also should find out where this Tom Stowe is, and have him held for questioning," Dad said, beginning to write his own note. "This is beginning to look very bad for the auror force." He finished writing and threw his note into the floo.

"I stand by my opinion," declared Victor. "Your Shacklebolt is either a villain or a fool. You have warned him of this Bill, and he does nothing."

"Well, he'll have to do something now!" Dad declared.

There was another pfft and McGonagall snagged another reply. She again read and shook her head, with increased disbelief. "Tom Stowe has killed LeDoux and vanished. He stunned the other two guards. Aurors have been sent to arrest Bill".

There was another pfft and this time the message sailed over McGonagall's head to Dad. Dad turned white as he read the message.

"Tom Stowe showed up at the Minister's country house, with urgent information. Bill escorted him to see the Minister and, apparently, together, they attempted to murder the Minister. Bron Turner, the head of the guard, reports that he killed Stowe while he was trying to escape, but Bill Baggins did escape. The return note is from Bron Turner, the leader of the Minister's aurors," Dad informed us, all color drained from his face.

"Fortunately our questioning of LeDoux led to extra protection for the Minister, and half a dozen aurors were by his side after the first sign of the attack. The Minister was stunned, but is alive. He has been taken to St. Mungo's."

"What is this world coming to?" declared Mrs. Delacour. "I'll feel better when Philippe returns."

When McGonagall raised her head, there were tears streaming down her face. "You're the Minister now, Arthur. What do you want us to do?"


	44. Chapter 44

**Chapter Forty-Four – Dad Takes Charge, With a Little Help**

"We need to get to the Ministry", Dad said. "We'll have to make sure the rest of the aurors can be trusted, and we'll need to start searching for Bill. We have to assume that the other two Azkaban prisoners have escaped. Thankfully, most of the prisoners were still being held at the Ministry, including Lucius Malfoy. I'm going to personally make sure they are secure. I'll take my aurors with me, since LeDoux said they were not corrupted, but if I could have George, Bill, Ron, Harry, Hermione, and Ginny, I'll feel safer. You can have the rest of the wands to help defend Hogwarts."

"I'm coming with you," said Mom.

We walked out to the main entry gate and McGonagall showed us where to stand in the bubble she had created within the wall to allow disapparation. "I didn't think it made any sense to expose ourselves to attackers every time we had to leave the school," McGonagall explained.

"That was very thoughtful," Dad replied. "Now let's form up in battle formation. We don't know what awaits us at the Ministry. I'm going to apparate us directly to my office."

We joined hands and were gone. I trusted Dad to assure we were packed tightly enough that we wouldn't apparate into his furniture or a wall. We didn't. We rematerialized in a large clear space in his waiting room.

Dad turned to one of his aurors and instructed, "Go get the auror shift head and bring him to my office. Tell him to bring all the information we have on Bill Baggins and Tom Stowe, and send an auror to secure the Minister's office. Contact the papers and tell them I'll make an important announcement here, in two hours. Summon all of the department heads and get all of the aurors back on duty. Tell them to come to the Minister's conference room in an hour. He turned to a second auror and commanded, "Lead us to the lockup. The rest of the aurors should stay here and guard the office."

We walked to the elevator and descended to the floor that held the basement courts. We were led to the very courtroom where Harry had been tried. It had been converted to a jail. Several aurors were guarding the prisoners. We saw eight of the French officers who had supported LeDoux, close to a dozen Death Eater supporters whom I didn't recognize, Lucius Malfoy, and MacNair.

"At least these men remain secure," Dad said. "Why are they still healthy and in custody, but LeDoux is dead?"

"LeDoux was removed for further questioning, immediately after he arrived," one of the guards replied.

"At Hogwarts we've tried hard to trace certain wands used by and against Voldemort and Dumbledore," said Hermione. "I think it important to find Voldemort's wand, which Harry gave to Shacklebolt. I think we also need to conduct an investigation of the actions at Shacklebolt's house, and collect the wands of Bill, Tom Stowe, Bron Turner, and Shacklebolt…I guess, really everyone who was there when Shacklebolt was attacked. There are also likely papers there that will need protecting."

"His personal guard will secure the house and investigate," Dad replied.

"But can you trust them? They failed to protect the Minister. You should send some senior judicial staff, trusted by both you and the public, to conduct a full investigation. There will be all sorts of wild rumors, especially with an election coming up, and you need trusted people to answer them," Mom urged Dad.

"Yes, I see what you mean, Molly. This whole affair has put me in a fog. I'll put that in motion immediately. The guard at the Minister's house will have to be relieved and questioned about the assassination attempt."

For the next hour, Dad was very busy arranging auror schedules and meeting with his assistant to work out the statement that he planned to give to the press. As he read through the files for Bill, Tom Stowe, and Bron Turner he remarked, "nothing really jumps out at me as a red flag. Tom seems a little dodgier than the others, but nothing that would cause me to suspect he was against us."

Hermione asked if there were any more Muggle artifacts to be studied, while we waited, and was told "the obvious things were gathered up and are being stored in the workroom which the Minister showed you the other day. I spent many happy hours working in that room. Other than that, the offices of the Death Eater supporters have been sealed and left as they were."

Hermione commented, "I thought I would spend the next hour or so examining artifacts, but if they're that far away, I think we should keep our mass of wands together, in case someone tries to attack Mr. Weasley."

"I'll stay with Dad," George told her. "Leave us Bill and Mom. With the aurors, we three will keep Dad perfectly safe. The greater danger is from more bombs, so why don't the four of you go off and investigate?"

Hermione received permission from Dad to snoop through the shop and Umbridge's office. The shop did not hold much of interest. There were three of the shiny, brass objects, which I now associated with bombs. Hermione determined that two of them actually were bombs. She removed and pocketed 'the part that goes boom'. There were also several more of the Muggle cell phones. Hermione quickly examined them, before declaring "If they ever held any secrets, they've been wiped clean. Nothing else to see here. Now I want a look at Umbridge's office."

A few minutes later, we were standing in front of Umbridge's office. This time Harry noted it was "without the stolen eye of Mad Eye Moody staring at us," as we waited for an auror to remove the magical seals. When the auror arrived, Hermione watched him closely, asking what he was doing, and how.

"Well, Miss, it's easy enough, because I know exactly what spells were applied to the door, and in what order, and by whom. It's all written down in the auror security log, so I was able to check out the details, before coming here. Bron Turner applied the spells, basically an alarm spell to alert the aurors if anyone comes within an inch of the door, a magical tamper spell that triggers the alarm spell if anybody uses magic within a foot of this office, and a Fidelis Charm, that makes the doorknob and keyhole invisible. Then, of course, I brought the key master with me."

"But how can you remove the magical spells, without being detected, if one of the spells raises the alarm if you use magic to remove the spells?" Hermione asked.

"It can be done, but very carefully, by first sensing where each of the spells is anchored. That sort of passive magic doesn't trigger the tamper or alarm spells. Then you have to dislodge the alarm spell from its anchor point, very quickly, before the tamper spell can trigger it. Your wand has to be closer to the anchor point of the alarm spell than the distance between the alarm spell and the tamper spell, but, in this case, no closer than an inch to the door. If the tamper and alarm spells are anchored too close together, then you are pretty much out of luck, unless you are a far more advanced Wizard than I am.

"Fortunately, it's time-consuming to anchor spells too close together, and interaction between closely-spaced spells can trigger false alarms, so that's seldom a problem. I just did this quick and dirty, by telling the auror on duty that I was going to unlock the door. I set off the alarms, but he ignored them. That saves a lot of time."

"I'd like you to show me how that's done some time," Hermione said, as we thanked the auror and he left us alone to explore the room.

With limited time, we divided the work of searching. I searched Umbridge's desk top, Ron explored the desk drawers, Harry investigated the file cabinet, and Hermione explored the pictures and posters on the walls. The desk top was dominated by half a dozen fairly large framed pictures of cats, some sleeping, one licking his whiskers with a long tongue, and two ceaselessly rolling back and forth on their backs, one of which was fighting a ball of bright red yarn, between all four paws. I decided to be thorough and remove each of the pictures from its frame, checking for anything hidden between the picture and its frame or written of the back of the picture. Each photo was labeled with the name of the cat and the date and location of the photo: Dusty, 10/5/64, Mom's cottage; Rosebud 6/6/81, home; Blondie, 7/31/99, park; Luscious Lucius, 8/10/01, the manor; The Dark Lord, 9/7/05, Northern HQ; Monty, 6/4/06, 'hideaway'. These last three seemed more than mildly suspicious. Since they showed bits of the cats' surroundings, I pocketed them and gave the frames a minute inspection. The rest of the desk contained two ornate silver vases still holding decrepit rose buds, undoubtedly pink when fresh. Remembering the name of one of the cats was Rosebud, I removed the spent buds, and unapologetically poured the remaining water on the carpet. Her carpet was thin and worn and would dry quickly. I examined the patterns in detail, but found no hidden meaning. At this point, Dad's assistant stuck her head in the office.

"You've got about half an hour before the Deputy Minister wants you at the press briefing, in the Minister's conference room. He is going to mention your report on the battles at Beauxbatons and Durmstrang and the capture of the French Minister, so you should plan a few things to say and give some thought about how you will respond to questions. I think the French Minister is the big thing: Minister Weasley will have to report on his murder, so it's important that you help establish what a bad guy he was. To that end, the headmasters, McGonagall and Krum, have been sent for. They'll also be at the press conference."

I rolled all of that around my head, as I continued examining the desk. A large blotter pad and an ornate brass pen set with two silver writing pens, with gold nibs revealed as I pulled them from their holders, and large glass reservoirs for black and red ink, topped by brass lids. I removed the ink reservoirs, as well as the pens, wondering at the woman's use of two ink colors, and then hefted the base. It was certainly heavy enough, and thick enough, to be a bomb. I fiddled with the bottom and found a catch that allowed a well-hidden bottom plate to slide off. In the internal cavity was a brass key, which I pocketed. Seeing nothing that looked like a bomb, I reassembled the contraption and moved on to the blotter, checking to see if any legible writing was present. None was. Thus ended my part of the office search. Rather than just stand around, I decided to see how Hermione was making out, since there were some even larger cat pictures on the walls.

Hermione had also found identifications of the cats in question, neatly lettered on the reverses of the pictures. The identification of a very fat, old, grey-and-white tomcat seemed especially intriguing: Thicky, 3/9/06, his Cardiff Cottage. Despite the size of the beast, there was a good bit of the cottage showing in back of him. It was a good-sized, yellowish brick dwelling, probably two stories, although the roof was barely discernible, with turquoise shutters on the windows and a second floor balcony that overlooked the rear lawn, where Umbridge stood, holding Thicky. We took that picture to take with us. Then Hermione said "does it really matter? Let's take all the pictures. The dates may be some kind of a code."

Harry reported that he "found gold" in the filing cabinet. Umbridge had kept files on us, which we already knew, but also had files on a number of aurors, including our friend Bill and that heinous murderer, Tom Stowe, as well as his boss Bron. Harry was a little surprised to find a file on Margaret, and even Colin Creevey and his brother Dennis, as well as the more expected files on Seamus, Ernie, and Tim Corner. Harry said that in looking at his file, that it had been updated to include our imprisonment at the Malfoys, with a concluding comment about the Battle of Hogwarts. Delores was certainly a very meticulous Death Eater. Harry continued paging through the files, suddenly stopping and turning a little white. I was feeling quite fearful myself, as I grabbed his hand.

[terror/unease] I don't know how to tell Hermione, but her file was updated six weeks ago, to show that Umbridge knew her parents were in Australia. There is no indication that Thicknesse's forces have taken any action yet, but they certainly have had ample time to do so.

I decided to lift the burden off Harry, or to at least get the ball rolling. "Hermione, Harry found something in Umbridge's files that you'd better see. They know your family is in Australia."

"We've got to get to Australia," Hermione gasped. "We have to go tonight".

"Let's go find Mr. Weasley," Harry replied.

Our escort took us to Mr. Weasley, who was in his office putting the finishing touches on his prepared comments to the media. "Good." he said "I was just about to send for you. We meet the press in ten minutes."

"Not so good," Harry replied, quickly explaining what we had found in Umbridge's office. Mr. Weasley looked grim as he took in Harry's report.

"Yes, I agree that you should leave tonight. Harry and Ginny can go with Ron and Hermione. We have the four cell phones that we found. I'll have them charged up in the shop, while we rush through the press conference. That way, you'll be able to contact us from Australia. You take two phones to communicate among yourselves, I'll take one, and I'll give the other to Molly to take back to Hogwarts. I'll get you some more small currency notes from the Minster's stash, in case you need it in Australia. I'd send a team of aurors with you, but I'm not sure whom I can trust, outside of my personal team. That picture of the house in Cardiff may be a big help in locating Thicknesse and we'll use Umbridge's house key to try to gain entry. Now we need to go to our meeting."

Dad scooped up the cell phones on the way out of his office, and handed them to his assistant, Prudence, with instructions on what was to be done with them. Then we were down the hall to the conference room. As we entered the conference room, I was very surprised to see Ernie sitting next to Luna's Dad. Harry had spotted him first and was soon at his side, bending over his chair to chat and find out how and why he had arrived at this limited-audience press conference.

As I squeezed past Dad to stand on Ernie's opposite side, I heard him reply to Harry, "I had applied for a job at the Daily Prophet, but nothing was available, and then with the death of Rita Skeeter, they sent me an owl and asked if I was still willing to work cheap. I told them, heck yes. I'm not cut out to be a farmer and Dad was really getting on my nerves. It's one thing to live with your parents after you graduate, but even harder to have your father as a boss. Everything has to be done his way, nothing new that I learned from Professor Sprout matches what he learned, and for him, what he learned will always be the only right way. I was trying to convince him to just let me grow mandrake on the side, in a plot of my own, because Professor Sprout and Neville said there is a real shortage and strong demand for it. It would pay a lot more than the turnips that my father insists that I grow. I'd have worked at the Prophet for free, if they let me sleep at my desk and scrounge food out of their kitchen. So, what's the big deal that Mr. Weasley called us out in the middle of the night?

"I'm here because the more senior reporters said that if they were going to get called out mysteriously at this time of night, it had better be the Minister doing the calling, not Arthur Weasley. The betting line is two to one that he's discovered another major plot involving exploding Muggle toilets. I told them that Mr. Weasley was a very serious Deputy Minister, and I'd be happy to take this as my first big assignment, since I have spent my time investigating exploding toilets, and aurors that were late for their shifts, and the Ministry's attempts to find a source for more mandrake, for medical potions – my father thinks I just wrote that article to get a last dig in at him for being a fossil brain."

"I don't want to steal Dad's thunder," Ron whispered as he towered over Ernie's seated head and spoke almost into his right ear canal, "but this is a big, big scoop for you. The French Ministry attacked Hogwarts, an auror murdered the French Minister after he had been taken prisoner, and that same auror tried to assassinate our Minister of Magic, who is now in St. Mungo's."

"Have you become as big a jokester as George?"

"No mate, I swear all of that, and more, is true."

Dad calmly described everything that had happened and outlined the actions he had taken to launch an investigation, vet the auror corps, and continue to carry the attack to the Death Eaters, following what he described as ringing victories against the forces of the Voldemort/Grindelwald criminals at Beauxbatons and now at Hogwarts. He deeply regretted the death of Minister LeDoux, prior to his formal questioning, but proudly related the confessions LeDoux had made in front of his own officers. He assured the press that the French and German Ministries were now fully allied with his own Ministry and that both Beauxbatons and Durmstrang were free and safe, despite a grievous loss of students. He took credit for "this Ministry's emissaries to Beauxbatons leading the final rout of the Giants," saying all Wizards in Britain could feel safer. In a far more subdued tone, he confessed to the escape of the few prisoners being held at Azkaban, but stated that most of the captured Death Eaters remained securely in Ministry hands. He concluded by seeking the best wishes of all for the Minister's speedy recovery, while pledging his own unflagging efforts to keep the Ministry running smoothly until Minister Shacklebolt's return.

Dad called on Harry and Mom to give an impressive sounding, if thoroughly redacted, accounting of the recent battles at Beauxbatons and Hogwarts. Harry also gave a brief synopsis of what we had learned at Durmstrang. In any less momentous a news conference than this one, the news of Durmstrang's defenders thoroughly routing the attackers and killing all those Giants would have been a front page banner headline. The Wizarding populace in Britain had previously received nothing but the most meager rumors about the fighting on the Continent.

Viktor Krum proved quite the little politician, thanking us for our part in delivering the Continent from the "power hungry and surely insane Minister LeDoux, who clearly was a dangerous adherent of Grindelwald, intent on sparking a war with the Muggles, which we Wizards would surely lose," while pledging "a great and on-going friendship between the Wizards of Central and Eastern Europe and their fellows in Britain." He expressed extreme interest in "Minister Weasley's very enlightened offer for establishment of an exchange of students between Durmstrang and Hogwarts, which could only further tighten the bonds between the two Wizarding communities."

Madame Delacour expressed her "great thanks for the Ministry's emissaries' efforts to save Beauxbatons and remove a vile usurper from the head of the Paris Ministry." She expressed her and Philippe's "strong affection for all of our British cousins" as well as her "personal eagerness for her daughter Gabrielle to participate in the first exchange of students between Hogwarts and Beauxbatons, hopefully at the start of the next term."

There was a lively question and answer session, with questions to Harry and me about how it felt to slay a Giant, an unusual number of Quidditch questions to Viktor, requests for a more detailed description of the Minister's condition and, from Ernie, "is Minister Shacklebolt really expected to live?" and "how might this development impact the upcoming election?"

We all parried or answered the questions as best we could, until the reporters finally seemed satiated. I thought they had enough news to fill several editions, but perhaps the oversupply of information would prevent the chance of putting a negative spin on events. The Daily Prophet had not been noted for its support of the anti-Voldemort forces, either during his return and rise, or during the Thicknesse regime. Even since Voldemort's death, the Prophet's reporters, notably the unlamented Rita and Malcom Frakes, had found ways to insert barbs at Dad, or Shacklebolt, or even Harry, in what should have been wholly positive articles.

I was sorry that we were going to miss the morning newspapers, but it was important to be off for Australia.

Ernie greeted the rest of our group and departed to write his article, with what can only be described as a humongous gloaty smile on his face and the look of a man who felt his career was about to be truly launched.

After the room cleared, Harry signaled for Professor McGonagall to join our group. He told her that we were going to retrieve Hermione's parents right away, because the Death Eaters had discovered where she had hidden them. "Where is that?" the Professor asked.

Hermione answered. "I moved them to little town called Alice Springs. Well actually it's now a fair-sized city for Australia. I'm going to apparate us there."

"How long have the Death Eaters known your parents' location?" Professor McGonagall asked.

"We're not sure," Harry replied "but Umbridge kept a file on Hermione and added an entry six weeks ago, saying her parents had ... see…" Harry pulled the file out of the inner pocket of his robes and showed the incriminating entry to Professor McGonagall.

"I see, Harry. Umbridge was every bit as bad as we thought. At least the Death Eaters hadn't tracked them beyond Sydney, Australia. That means they may not have followed them to Australia, or done significant enough research in the Muggle world to have pinned them down to a town or street address. I don't want to sound callous, but if the Death Eaters have known their general location for at least six weeks, another few hours isn't going to matter. It's night time over there now. I suggest you all get a good night's sleep and leave first thing in the morning. That will give us time to prepare some things that you are likely to need, including escape portkeys.

Hermione was initially reluctant, but finally agreed that McGonagall's suggestion was reasonable. We slept at the Ministry and assembled in Dad's office for breakfast. Prudence joined our group and disgorged the bounty of her efforts on our behalf. Harry and Hermione were each given a fully charged cell phone, along with the numbers for the phones to be held by Mom and Dad. Each of us was handed a wad of British currency. She also had a collection of Muggle clothes for each of us, and what she described as special gifts from Headmistress McGonagall. These turned out to be a series of very attractive leather belts for our Muggle jeans, complete with elegant silver belt buckles. I was thinking it was a nice, thoughtful gift, but nothing of much use on our planned trip, when Dad's assistant explained: "The belt buckles are port keys. They are timed to activate exactly a day apart and exactly ten minutes after sunset in Alice Springs. If you want to come home, just have everyone touch the buckle at that time. They are set to go in order Harry, then Ginny, then Ron, then Hermione. If you are not ready to return, just remove that day's belt before sunset. Don't worry, the jeans are tight and won't fall down. Half an hour after sunset, it will just be another nice belt, but if you're wearing it at sunset, you'll automatically return here.

"Another thing - we don't think the opposition will expect that you are able to apparate to Australia, so we've laid a false trail. We have booked four first class tickets on Quantas for tomorrow night. It was done in a way that should be fairly obvious, even if our Death Eater friends have let their guard down. We will have aurors watching that flight. Final detail - you can phone the Minister at any time, I'll use the shop to keep his phone charged, but Molly will have to conserve power. You can call her at precisely 6:00 P.M., your time in Australia, every day. In fact, you definitely should call her each day, or we may send in the aurors to recover your bodies. Good luck on your trip. The Headmistress also sent along your brooms. She suggests that you use your tranfiguration skills to turn them into big, wide sun hats, which you're certainly going to need where you're going. She reminded me to inform you that, with a little care, you should be able to perform the magic in a manner in which you can readily undo it, even without a wand. She says best of luck to you all."

She brought our brooms from the Minister's office, and I didn't think any of us took an embarrassingly long time to turn them into suitable hats, although I did finish last.

We said goodbye to George and wished him well on getting his shop back in order. "Thanks," he replied, but I'll be staying close to Dad for the next few days. I know what's really important. Lee will handle things just fine. Bring back Hermione's parents."

We used the Minister's office to change into our Muggle clothes. The jeans were every bit as tight as Dad's assistant had advertised. We returned to the conference room for one last goodbye and then Harry, Ron, and I linked hands with Hermione to disapparate. "Hold it," Dad interrupted us, "you can't apparate from here. You'll have to come to my ante-room. We can key the room's magical defenses to recognize your wands. That way, not only can you disapparate from there, but you'll be able to apparate back to the the ante-room, whenever you wish. You won't be dependent upon anyone else if you need to visit the Ministry in the future."


	45. Chapter 45

**Chapter Forty-Five – Alice Springs**

We followed Dad back to his offices. I kissed him goodbye, we linked hands, and were gone. This might have been the worst apparation of my life, and I puked my guts out for the first time as we apparated into the fenced-in rear yard of the small cottage where Hermione's parents now lived. The trip had seemed to take several twisting, turning minutes, during which we sometimes seemed to be traveling upside down, with huge forces trying to turn me inside out. I had to collect myself, before I could take in my surroundings. The bright sunlight, which partially blinded me, didn't help.

"I'm really sorry," Hermione apologized. "That really queased me too, and I know it's worse being a ride-along. I got a little disoriented halfway through the trip. It's hard to maintain focus for that long. I just had no experience with a really long apparation and didn't know how much harder it would be. That really was awful. I'm thankful we're all alive."

"It's okay," Harry reassured her. "None of us could have done any better and we didn't understand the difficulties any more than you did. Somebody might have been thoughtful enough to warn us about this. I'm sure it was a lot harder for you to drag all of us along with you."

"Actually it was," Hermione seemed hesitant to grasp what seemed like a handy excuse. "It's hard to keep a group from getting all twisted around over such a great distance. I was afraid some of you would land on your heads."

"Just relax and collect yourselves," my brother suggested to all of us. "If we had ridden a Muggle airplane, we might have faced a Death Eater attack and put about a hundred Muggles in danger. This was the best way to travel. Likely Dad and McGonagall thought it would be worse if they gave us cause to worry and dent Hermione's confidence. Even Bill couldn't keep the group from twisting on a short flight from Hogwarts to Shacklebolt's mansion. This was MUCH harder. I think Hermione should be proud to pull it off as well as she did."

I knew Ron was trying to buck up his girlfriend, but he had a good point. I know that I couldn't have done what Hermione just did. I gave her a thumbs up as I spit and wiped the puke off my lips. I now felt collected enough to assess my surroundings. My first realization was that if a couple of Death Eaters had been waiting for us, I'd be dead. Likely we all would be. That seemed a good sign that the baddies hadn't found this exact location. If they had staked out Grimmauld Place, they would have guarded this yard.

The yard was small and did not have much grass. In fact, we had landed on perhaps the only couple dozen square feet of real sod amidst what Hermione called 'the xeriscape landscaping – I chose each plant myself' of the rest of the backyard. I must have looked puzzled, because Hermione explained to me "I read about it in an article about Arizona, in America. Xeriscapes are designed to minimize the consumption of water, in an area like this where there is almost no rain, but still provide a pleasant, homey backyard. It's not something I would expect somebody who grew up it Britain to know about. Neville helped me pick suitable plants."

Okay. It appeared to be late afternoon, Australia time, and quite warm, pushing ninety degrees and very sunny. We naturally moved into the shade of the white stuccoed wall of the cottage. There was only one small window in the rear wall, and we positioned ourselves to be invisible from its vantage.

"This wasn't quite what I expected when I first brought my parents here," Hermione explained, "I loved the book 'A Town Called Alice' as a kid, and thought that would be a great place to take Mom and Dad. I didn't realize it had become this suburban-type city of 30,000 people, but I didn't feel safe traveling around Australia a lot, so I set them up here. I picked this house for them, partly because I thought it was nice and not too expensive, but also because I liked the privacy of the back yard. I planted the grass myself, as a marker for our apparating and disapparating site. My parents don't know why, but I left them with a powerful suggestion to care for the grass and to always keep it clear of objects and not to walk on it. Dad mows it once a week, precisely at 9:00 A.M. on Saturdays, so I know my landing zone is always available to me. My parents have a dental practice in the center of town and aren't home now. I left them with a dependable set of memories and fixed habits. Given the temperature, and my need to check and see how they're doing, I think we should wait for them inside. When I confunded them, I set up the spell so that they should return to normal as soon as they see me. I made a spare key for myself, so we can slip in the back door."

Hermione unlocked the door and we slipped into the much cooler interior. Glancing at a clock in the kitchen, where we had all been drawn by a sudden sense of thirst, Hermione announced that we had a little over two hours until her parents returned from work. She spent the intervening time poking around her parents' correspondence and things, trying to judge how well they were making out in their new home. She was quite relieved that her initially cursory review showed a well-thumbed morning paper and fresh breakfast dishes in the sink, strongly suggesting that her parents were safe and well. The rest of us just relaxed on the beds and sofa, while Hermione continued her rummaging.

Harry and I were lying side by side on the guest bed exchanging thoughts and what Harry described as {[relaxed pleasure] This is our first snog on another continent. You should savor it, there won't be a second time for a first Australian snog.}

I noticed that unlike British, German, or French Potter snogs, the Australian version involved quite a lot of tongue. It was quite un-Harry – perhaps he had left his European inhibitions in Europe. Still, I was quite sure Harry wouldn't progress all that far, given the possibility that my brother could pop into the room at any time. My reverie was interrupted by my partner's roving brain {[confusion] I don't know where Hermione learned to build up the elaborate memories and habits that she says she put in her parents' heads. And including a trigger to have them automatically return to their former selves when they see her? I know I slept through some classes, but that stuff very definitely was not taught to us at Hogwarts. Where could she have learned all of that? I'm going to go and ask her.}

It was futile to shout 'get back here, Harry', so I didn't bother. It sometimes seemed that Harry just wasn't that into snogging with me.

"Hey, Hermione, how did you learn to perform such a complex confunding on your parents? And how did you get to Australia?"

"I found some very useful books in the Hogwarts library. And no, I did not apparate my parents to Australia. We flew Quantas to Sydney and purchased a car to drive here. It was a long but enjoyable trip. I didn't confund my parents until we got to Sydney. It was really very trusting of them to follow my lead to Australia and the purchase of a car and then to just stand there and let me work my magic on them. I wondered if the Death Eaters could track the underage magic that I performed in Sydney. I didn't want to wait until Alice Springs to confund my parents, in case they could track us in that way. I did everything that I could think of to keep them safe. I changed their name to Morgan, made them five years younger, and made Mom be Dad's assistant, rather than an independent dentist. Married dentists just seemed too rare to chance. I've been blessed with a very good relationship with each of my parents. A purebred Wizard like Ron just can't imagine what is involved in Muggle parents agreeing to send their daughter off with a strange old Wizard in order to be trained to be a Witch.

"It was Dumbledore who came for me, and he spent some time performing magic to convince Dad that he really was a Wizard. It took me quite a long time to remind them of all the strange things that I had done or that had happened to me or around me during the prior three years, before they conceded that I might possibly be a Witch, or have 'a special talent' as my mother described it. Dumbledore stayed overnight and into the next morning, before my parents agreed to allow me to attend Hogwarts, 'just for a term, to see how things go, and she can just not return after Christmas break if she doesn't like it and doesn't fit in with the other students' as my Dad phrased it. I think in a way my Mom took it better than my Dad. She had been starting to see me as a little strange and perhaps developing a mental illness. I had completed my third office visit to the psychologist down the corridor from Mom's practice by the time Dumbledore visited us.

"That first Christmas was a little awkward. I had noticeably changed and my parents took a little convincing to agree that I could return to Hogwarts. After that, I made a point of continuing my Muggle science and math studies over the summers, and spending a lot of evening and weekend time with my parents to reassure them that I would always be their daughter and that I would know enough science and maths to be able to go to a good university if 'this Hogwarts thing' didn't work out. I was sorry to have to confund them, for their own good of course, because by my fifth year, they had both adjusted well to the realization that I likely would live my life largely in the Wizarding world. We were getting along really well, and I promised that I would always make time to visit them and that when I had my own family, that they would be a part of it."

All Harry managed to reply was "alright then, I guess that explains it." He looked very thoughtful and then continued "but what are you going to tell them when you see them? From your reaction last night, I know that you don't believe that the danger to them has passed. They may even be in danger, here in Australia. You can't honestly say that the danger to us has passed either. You thought you'd be coming for your parents after the danger was over, but with the Death Eaters knowing that they're in Australia, we're here now under very different circumstances."

"I think what I had planned at the time was that I'd be dead by now and my parents would go on with their lives. I realize I said that the death of Colin Creevey triggered the end of the Nancy Drew rules, but really, I felt more at risk as soon as I approached the age at which Cedric died. I realize that I'm still in peril. I know, I pushed this trip earlier than logic permitted. I just needed to see them and make sure they were alright, but then I saw that file last night and just panicked. We've survived longer than I expected, and I want to talk to them again and be a family at least for a little while. You never liked the Dursleys, so you haven't missed them at all, but this last year has been difficult for me. I'm not sorry I'm here, but I'm also not sure what I want to do. I don't think I can just leave them here, with the Death Eaters possibly knowing where they live. But I do know that you're right and it isn't safe to return them to Britain. I'm afraid I may be forced to hide them somewhere else, but I'm not sure where. I think I could apparate to one of the last places we vacationed as a family. It was a little cottage on the Isle of Man. I wish I knew that we couldn't be tracked by our magic.

"Maybe the best thing is to take them back to the Ministry with us and then go from there. Perhaps they can stay at Shell Cottage for a while. It would be a lot easier if I knew when we would have all these troubles behind us. It's one thing to hide them away for a week or two, but years or even just months seems so unfair to them. If I could feel confident that the Death Eaters can't trace them any farther than Sydney, the kindest thing might be to just watch that they arrive safely and then leave. But then I worry, how many dentists and assistant couples can there be in Australia, let alone dentists newly emigrated to Australia? Perhaps the society registry will lead Thicknesse right to Alice Springs. It would have been easier to just make them a couple of retirees, but they're too young and didn't have enough money for that. Well, perhaps they did, but we weren't able to access all of it before we left. I think maybe the best thing is to get them somewhere safe, confund them again, and send them money to live on until all of our problems are behind us.

"They've never seen Hogwarts, I wonder if they could stay there with us for a while. They might even help with the Muggle technology. Professor McGonagall wants Ron to explore his inventive side, and there really is a lot that my Dad could teach him. Our basement was set up as a reasonable electrical and machine shop. My dad loved to tinker, I remember…"

I had been patient long enough and called out to Harry, "should I continue waiting in here, on the bed?"

"No, come on out, this is interesting. Hermione just…"

Non-explicit rejection doesn't feel a whole lot better than explicit rejection.

"A car is pulling up to the house," Ron called out to alert us. Hermione asked us to hide in the guest room, saying she would sit on the sofa to greet them and handle any confusions associated with their reverting to themselves and finding themselves in this particular cottage. I followed Ron and Harry into the spare bedroom, fixed the bedspread and then joined the others, out of sight against the near wall. We heard a key turn in the lock, a door open, and then Hermione's voice.

"Hi Mom and Dad, it's good to see you again."

"Harold! There's a strange girl in our house," came in too loud a whisper. "Keep her busy, while I go into the kitchen and phone the police."

"No, Mom, it's me, your daughter, Hermione. Don't you remember when I left you and Dad here?"

"Now, now young lady," we heard a male voice saying, "you seem very convinced that we're related to you, but I can assure you that neither of us has ever laid eyes on you before now. Don't be alarmed, I'll just sit down here and you can tell me all about what brings you into our house."

"Dad, please, look at this picture of us as a family. And here is a picture of me and Mom, and here is a letter that you wrote to me, while I was at school. Take a close look, it's clearly in your handwriting. And here is a letter from Mom."

"I don't understand. We never had a daughter. We wanted to – it just never worked out. This is certainly a picture of you with us, but I don't recognize you at all."

{[worry/uncertainty/profound sadness] What should we do? We can't let her Mom call the police. Should we just petrify them both to give us some time? Her Mom's already in the kitchen! I'm going to do it.}

Harry left my side and moved toward the kitchen. I soon heard "petrificus totalis" and the sound of a fallen body. Harry walked back to the living room, startling Mr. Granger and earning a glare from Hermione.

"I didn't know what to do," Harry said. "I couldn't let her phone the police. That would have left a record for Thicknesse to follow. I'm sorry I couldn't catch her before she fell, but she just dropped like a rock. I don't think she injured herself."

Mr. Granger found his voice faster than Hermione. "What have you done to my wife, you thug? What the…"

This latter was said as Ron and I came out of the bedroom to join the others. Our entry was greeted by "Sorry, Daddy, 'petrificus totalis'."

We all just stood looking at each other for several minutes, wondering what the heck we were going to do now.

"This hasn't gone at all the way I planned," Hermione wailed in fear and frustration. "What can I do? I don't know what went wrong with the spell reversal, and I'm not sure where to begin to fix it. We can't just leave them here. They'll file a crazy police report and draw attention to themselves. It would have been better if we just left before they got into the house. Please tell me what I should do? They have to be at work tomorrow morning, or someone will come looking for them."

"I think," my brother said, putting his arm around her shoulders, "that we have to take them back to a safe place in Britain and get some experienced help putting them straight. We've got to get to either Hogwarts or the Ministry. We can move them from there to St. Mungo's if we need to."

"This is awful. I can't believe I did this to my own parents. I was just trying to protect them. I'm not sure I'm nearly calm enough to apparate us back. It's too quick any way, I just couldn't do it now. One of you is going to have to do it, or we'll have to use the portkey. Just hold me, Ron."

{[worry/confusion/doubt/plea for guidance] Hermione was always the wise voice I could depend upon at times like this. I'm trying to remember whether the first portkey works at sunset today, or whether by 'first day', your Dad's assistant meant tomorrow evening. We probably have a couple hours left until sunset. I think the portkey is the first thing we should try. If it's not tonight, I think we have to apparate, but I don't think I can do it. Maybe Hermione will be recovered by then. I don't think we can hide for a whole day, not if Hermione is right and her parents will be missed by early morning. We could go somewhere in the car, but how long would it take for the police to find the car?}

By now, Hermione had broken away from Ron's embrace and gone to the kitchen to check on her Mom. Ron had followed her.

"I'm going to check on Hermione, you'd better stay with her Dad," I said to Harry.

When I reached the kitchen, Hermione was seated on the floor, cradling her mother's head in her lap, stroking her hair, and uttering almost incoherent apologies, with tears streaming down both cheeks. Ron was standing behind Hermione, his hand on her head, and a totally helpless look on his face. The photos were lying on the floor, next to Hermione's left knee; she clearly had been showing them to her Mom. I knelt down next to Hermione, so I could talk face to face.

"We can't fix them here. There's no choice but to take them back with us. If the first portkey doesn't work tonight, Ron, Harry, and I will apparate us back to Dad's office. We just have to wait until sunset. I don't know if it's better to bind your parents with magical ropes and unpetrify them or to leave them as they are. I think it's good to keep talking to them and telling them that we're friends and mean them no harm. Harry's talking to your Dad, in the living room. I can stay and talk to your Mom, if you want to explain to your Dad, in person."

"Thanks. Mom… I'm going to leave you with my friend Ginny, so that I can go explain things to Dad. I hope you understand what I tried to say. You are going to be fine. I am your daughter, these are my friends, and nobody is going to hurt you. We just had to temporarily petrify, um paralyze you, because if you called the police, the bad Wizards who are chasing all of us would come here and hurt you. Just lie here with Ginny. She's going to take good care of you, until we can get you back to Britain to find medical help. Somewhere in your mind, you remember that you are my mother. We just have to find a way to access those memories. I'm sorry that I don't know enough to fix you. I wish that I did. I'm going to go to Dad now. I think it may be best to keep them like this until we go back, Ginny."

Ron and I stayed with, and talked encouragingly to, Hermione's Mom as we waited for sunset. We held the photos and letters in front of her face and tried to explain their significance to her. As the sun started to set, Harry and Hermione levitated her Dad into the kitchen, and we placed their hands, along with our own, onto Harry's belt buckle. We just sat there, waiting, not knowing exactly when sunset occurred, but knowing we had a half hour of grace, after the fact. My companions sat in silence, worried looks on their faces. And then, we were swirling through space, and then, landing in the ante-room of Dad's office. One of Dad's aurors was sitting in the assistant's chair.

"You're back way sooner than we expected. Your Dad is sleeping in his office; I'll go wake him for you. Are those Hermione's parents, or have you captured some more prisoners. Oh, I see, then I take it there is some sort of serious problem with them. I'm getting your Dad."

He was gone. While we waited for Dad, I helped the others prop Hermione's parents into what seemed to be a more comfortable sitting position. They were side by side, leaned in an upright sitting position, braced against the back of the assistant's desk. Hermione knelt and faced them, continuing the on-going, one-sided discussion that she had begun, while we rearranged her parents. Her father had thrown up over his trousers and the assistant's carpeting. Ron had handed a large hanky to Hermione and she was carefully cleaning her father's face. I could tell that Hermione was very close to completely losing it.

Dad came out and headed straight for Hermione. "Don't worry, you probably were too nervous to properly reverse your confundus spells, but it should be a very straight-forward matter for a dispassionate trained healer. My assistant will go to St. Mungo's to fetch their expert at this sort of thing. His name is Doctor Wright, and he has an unblemished record in treating cases like this. Prudence will just apparate over to St. Mungo's and back and then you'll see how quickly we can resolve this. Here, let me help." Dad performed a cleansing spell that dealt with Mr. Granger and the carpet, but the smell lingered. I told Hermione that she had better get rid of the handkerchief and somehow she vanished it. That didn't make the smell go away, but at least it lessened a bit.

Break, break, break

This ends Part I. I hope you enjoyed it. If you are continuing on to Part II, you should know that I am in the process of revising that Part. This means that I will be removing the current Part II from the site over this weekend and gradually replacing it with the revised chapters.


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